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REESE LIBRARY ^
UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA.
C/j^n
led by
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REESE LIBRARY ^
OF THK
3 UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA. I
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[See p. J4«i
' THERE STOOD, IN ALL HIS MAJESTY, THE GRAY CHIEFTAIN "
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A r-
-i\<«rt.
'SCJ^y^'^T."":: \: v''^-^
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e^s.
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Cop]rright, 1904, by Harper & Brothers.
All rights reserved.
Published November, 1904.
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Contents
PAOB
The Great Cat's Nursery 3
On Wolf Mountain 24
The Dance of the Little People .... 46
Wechah the Provider 66
The Mustering op the Herds 89
The Sky Warrior 106
A Founder of Ten Towns 123
The Gray Chieftain 143
HOOTAY OP THE LiTTLE RoSEBUD 159
The River People 177
The Challenge 200
Wild Animals prom the Indian Stand-point . 224
Glossary of Indian Words and Phrases . . 247
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Foreword
'* AND who is the grandfather of these silent
Jrv people ? Is it not the Great Mystery ?
For they know the laws of their life so well!
They must have for their Maker our Maker.
Then they are our brothers!"
Thus spoke one of the philosophers and
orators of the Red men.
It is no wonder that the Indian held the
animals to be his brothers. In his simple
mind he regards the killing of certain of them
for his sustenance to be an institution of the
'* Great Mystery." Therefore he kills them
only as necessity and the exigencies of life
demand, and not wantonly. He regards the
spirit of the animal as a mystery belonging
to the ** Great Mystery," and very often
after taking its life he pays due homage to
its spirit. In many of the Dakota legends
it appeared that such and such an animal
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Foreword
came and offered itself as a sacrifice to save
the Red man from starvation.
It was formerly held by him that the spir-
its of animals may communicate important
messages to man. The wild hunter often
refused during the remainder of his life to
kill certain animals, after he had once be-
come acquainted with their spirit or inner
life. Many a hunter has absented himself
for days and nights from his camp in pur-
suit of this knowledge. He considered it
sacrilege to learn the secrets of an animal
and then use this knowledge against him.
If you wish to know his secrets you must
show him that you are sincere, your spirit
and his spirit must meet on common grotmd,
and that is impossible tmtil you have aban-
doned for the time being your, habitation,
your weapons, and all thoughts of the chase,
and entered into perfect accord with the wild
creatures. Such were some oi the most
sacred beliefs of the Red man, which led him
to follow the trails of the animal people into
seclusion and the wildest recesses of the
woods and mountains.
Observations made for the puri)oses of
the hunt are entirely distinct from this, the
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Foreword
"spirit htint/* and include only the out-
ward habits and noticeable actions of the
game.
The stories contained in this book are
based upon the common experiences and
observations of the Red hunter. The main
incidents in all of them, even those which
are unusual and might appear incredible to
the white man, are actually current among
the Sioux and deemed by them worthy of
belief.
When the life-story of an animal is given,
the experiences described are typical and
characteristic of its kind. Here and there
the fables, songs, and superstitious fancies
of the Indian are brought in to suggest his
habit of mind and manner bi regarding the
four-footed tribes.
The scene of the stories is laid in the great
Northwest, the ancient home of the Dakota
or Sioux nation, my people. The Great
Pipestone Quarry, Eagle's Nest Butte, the
Little Rosebud River, and all the other
places described under their real names are
real and familiar features of that country,
which now lies mainly within the States of
Minnesota and the Dakotas. The time is
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Foreword
before 1870, when the buffalo and other
large game still roamed the wilderness and
the Red men lived the life I knew as a boy.
Ohiyesa (Charles A. Eastman).
Amerst, Mass.
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Red Hunters and the Animal
People
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The Great Cat's Nursery
A HARSH and hateful cry of a sudden
broke the peace of a midsummer night
upon the creek called Bear-runs-in-the-
Lodge. It told many things to the Red
hunter, who, though the hour was late,
still sat beside the dying camp-fire, pulling
away at his long-stemmed pipe.
"Ugh!" he muttered, as he turned his
head in the direction of the deep woods and
listened attentively. The great cat's scream
was not repeated. The hunter resumed his
former attitude and continued to smoke.
The night was sultry and threatened
storm, and all creatures, especially the
fiercer wild animals, become nervous and
irritable when thimder is in the air. Yet
this fact did not fully explain to his mind
Igmutanka's woman-like, almost hysterical
complaint.
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Having finished his smoke, he emptied
the ashes out of the bowl of the pipe and
laid it against the teepee-pole at his back.
'*Ugh!'* the htmter once more muttered to
himself, this time with a certain com-
placency. ** I will find your little ones to-
morrow! That is what you fear."
The' Bear-runs-in-the-Lodge is a deep and
winding stream, a tributary of the Smoking
Earth River, away up at the southern end
of the Bad Lands. It is, or was then, an
ideal home of wild game, and a resort for
the wild htmters, both four-footed and
human. Just here the stream, dammed of
many beaver, widens its timbered bottoms,
while its high banks and the rough cotmtry
beyond are studded with dwarf pines and
gullied here and there with cafion-like dry-
creeks.
Here the silvertip held supreme sway
over all animals, barring an occasional
contest with the motmtain lion and with
the buffalo bull upon the adjoining plains.
It is true that these two were as often
victorious as he of the big claws and sharp
incisors, yet he remained the terror of that
region, for he alone takes every opporttmity
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The Grea.t Ca.t'8 Nursery
to fight and is reckless in his courage, while
other chiefs of the Wild Land prefer to
avoid tinnecessary trouble.
Igmutanka, the puma mother, had taken
her leave of her two little tawny babes
about the middle of the afternoon. The
last bone of the buffalo calf which she had
brought home from her last hunt had been
served for dinner. Polished clean by her
sharp teeth, it lay in the den for the kittens
to play with. Her mate had left her early
on that former hunt, and had not returned.
She was very nervous about it, for already
she feared the worst.
Since she came to Bear-runs they had been
together, and their chance acquaintance had
become a love affair, and finally they had
chosen and made a home for themselves.
That was a home indeed ! Wildness, mystery,
and beauty combined in its outlook and
satisfied every craving of the savage pair.
They could scarcely say that it was quiet;
for while they were unassuming enough and
willing to ndnd their own affairs, Wild Land
is always noisy, and the hubbub of the wild
people quite as great in its way as that of
the city of man.
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Red Hunters and the Animal People
The stream was dammed so often that
Igmu did not have to jump it. The water-
worn cliflEs, arching and overhanging every
turn of the creek, were dark with pines and
cedars. Since her babies came she had not
ventured upon any long hunts, although
ordinarily she was the more successful of the
two.
Now Igtin was gone and she was very
hungry. She must go out to get meat.
So, afttr admonishing her babies to be still
during her absence, and not to come out
of their den when Shunktokecha, the wolf,
should invite them to do so, she went away.
As the great cat slunk down the valley
of the Bear -runs she stopped and glanced
nervously at every tree-root and grinning
ledge of rock. On the way to Blacktail
Creek she had to cross the divide, and when
she had attained the Porcupine Butte she
paused a moment for a survey, and saw a
large herd of buffalo lying down. But their
position was not convenient for an attack.
There was no meat for her there.
She entered the upper end of the Blacktail
and began to hunt down to its mouth. At
the first gulch there was a fresh trail. On
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The Grea.t Ca.t*s Nursery
that very morning three blacktail deer had
watered there.
Igmu withdrew and re-entered the valley
lower down. She took her stand upon a
projection of the bank almost overhanging
the stream, a group of buffalo-Serry bushes
partly concealing her position. Here they
will pass, she thought, in returning to the
main stream. Her calculation proved correct.
Soon she saw a doe with two yearlings
coming towards her, leisurely grazin^on the
choice grass.
The three were wholly unconscious of their
danger. Igmu flattened her long, lanky
body against the ground — her long, snaky
tail slowly moved to and fro as the animals
approached. In another moment she had
sprung upon the nearest fawn! A shrill
scream of agony and the cracking of tender
bones mingled with the gladness of satisfy-
ing the pangs of hunger. The mother doe
and the remaining fawn fled for their lives
over the hills to the next creek, knowing
well that she would not expose herself in an
open chase.
She stood over the lifeless body for a
moment, then grabbed it by the neck and
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Red Hunters and the Animal People
dragged it into the dry bed of a small creek,
where she was not likely to be disturbed at
her feast. The venison tasted deUciously,
especially as the poor nursing mother was
almost famished. Having eaten all she
wanted, she put her claim-mark on the
deer and covered it partly up. It was her
practice to cover her game to season, and
also to make it plain to all that know the
laws of Wild Land that it is her game —
Igmutanka's! If any one disturbs it, he is
running great risk of a pitched battle, for
nothing exasperates her family like the theft
of their game.
She could not carry any of it home with
her, for even while she feasted she had seen
an enemy pass by on the other side of the
creek. He rode a long -tailed elk (pony)
and carried a bagful of those dreadful winged
willows, and the crooked stick which makes
the winged willows fly. Igmu stopped eat-
ing at once and crouched lower. *' Don't
you dare come near me,** was the thought
apparent through her large, round eyes.
The man passed without discovering her
retreat.
"My babies!*' thought Igmu. "They are
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The Gre«Lt C«Lt*« Nursery
all alone!'* The mother-anxiety seized her.
It was dangerous now to cross the open,
but her desire to get back to her babies was
stronger than fear.. She ran up the ravine
as far as it went; then, seeing no one, ran
like a streak over the divide to the Porcupine
Butte, where there were large rocks piled
one upon another. Here she watched again
under cover. '' Aw-yaw-yawT' burst from
her in spite of herself. There were many
cone-shaped teepees, which had sprung up
since the day before upon the wide plain.
'* There are the homes of those dreadful
wild men! They always have with them
many dogs, and these will surely find my
home and babies," she thought. Although
her anxiety was now very great, and the
desire to reach home almost desperate, she
yet kept her animal coolness and caution.
She took a winding ravine which brought
her nearer to Bear-runs, and now and then
she had to run swiftly across the openings
to gain less-exposed points.
At last she came to the old stream, and
the crossing where the Bobtail Beaver had
lived for as long as she knew anything about
that country. Her dam was always in
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perfect order, and afforded an excellent
bridge. To be sure, they had never been
exactly on calling terms, but they had be-
come accustomed to one another as neigh-
bors, and especially whenever danger threat-
ened upon the Bear-runs there was a certain
sense of security and satisfaction to each in
the presence of the other.
As she passed hurriedly over the dam
she observed a trap. Igmu shivered as she
recognized the article, and on a closer
examination she detected the hated odor of
man. She caught the string attached to it
and jerked it out upon dry land, thus doing
a good turn to her neighbor Sinteksa.
This discovery fully convinced her of the
danger to her home and children. tShe
picked her way through the deep woods,
occasionally pausing to listen. At that time
of the day no people talk except the winged
people, and they were joyous as she passed
through the timber. She heard the rushing
of a water-fall over the cliff, now vibrating
louder, now fainter as she listened. Far
beyond, towards the wild men's camp, she
heard the barking of a dog, which gave her
'a peculiar shiver of disgust.
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A secret path led along the face of the cliff,
and there was one open sp>ot which she
must cross to get to her den. *'Phur-r-r!''
she breathed, and dropped to the ground.
There stood one of the dreaded wild men!
No sooner had she put her head out of
the woods than his quick eye caught her.
" Igmutanka !'' he exclaimed, and pulled
one of the winged sticks out of his little
bag.
Igmu was surprised for once, and fear al-
most overcame her. The danger to her chil-
dren and the possible fate of her mate came
into her mind in a flash. She hesitated for
one instant, and in that instant she felt the
sting of the swift arrow. She now rap for her
life, and in another moment was out of sight
among the gray ledges. '*Ugh! I got her,'*
muttered the Indian, as he examined the
spot where she had stood.
Igmu never stopped until she reached her
den. Her wild eyes gleamed as she paused
at the entrance to ascertain whether any one
had been there since she went away. When
she saw and smelled that her home had not
been visited, she forgot for the moment all
her fright and pain. Her heart beat fast with '
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Red Hunters and the Animal People
joy — the mother-joy. Hastily she crawled
into the dark cave.
'*Yaw-aw-aw!'' was the mother's greeting
to her tawny babes. **Yaw-aw-aw!'' they
replied in chorus. She immediately laid her-
self down in the farthest comer of the den
facing the entrance and invited her babies
to come and partake of their food. Doubt-
less she was considering what she should do
when the little ones had appeased their hun-
ger.
Presently the bigger baby finished his
meal and began to claw the eyes of his
brother. The latter pulled away, smacking
his lips and blindly showing fight.
''Hush!'' said the mother Igmu. *'You
must be good. Lie down and I will come
back soon.''
She came out of her den, still carrying the
winged stick in her back. It was only a skin
wound. She got hold of the end between her
teeth and with one jerk she pulled it out.
The blood flowed freely. She first rolled
upon some loose earth and licked the wound
thoroughly. After this she went and rubbed
against pine pitch. Again she licked the
pitch off from her fur; and having applied
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The Gre«Lt CoLt's Nursery
all the remedies known to her family, she re-
entered the cave.
Igmu had decided to carry her helpless
babes to a den she knew of upon Cedar
Creek, near the old Eagle's Nest — a, rough
and remote spot where she felt sure that the
wild men would not follow. But it was a
long way to travel, and she could carry only
one at a time. Meanwhile the hunters and
their dogs would certainly track her to her
den.
In her own mind she had considered the
problem and hit upon an expedient. She
took the smaller kitten by the skin of the
back and hurried with it to her neighbor
Sinteksa's place, down on the creek. There
were some old, tumble-down beaver houses
which had long been deserted. Without
ceremony she entered one of these and made
a temporary bed for her babe. Then she
went back to her old home for the last time,
took the other kitten in her mouth, and set
out on her night journey to Cedar Creek.
It was now dark. Her shortest road led
her near the camp of the red people ; and as
she knew that men and dogs seldom hunt by
night, she ventured upon' this way. Fires
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R.ed Huaters «Li\d the AaiinA.1 People
were blazing in the camp and the Red men
were dancing the *' coyote dance.*' It was
a horrible din! Igmu trembled with fear
and disgust as the odor of man came to her
sensitive nostrils. It seemed to her at this
moment that Igtin had certainly met his
death at the hands of these dreadful people.
She trotted on as fast as she could with
her load, only stopping now and then to put
it down and lick the kitten's back. She
laid her course straight over the divide, down
to the creek, and then up towards its source.
Here, in a wild and broken land, she knew of
a cavern among piled-up rocks that she in-
tended to make her own. She stopped at the
concealed threshold, and, after satisfying her-
self that it was just as she had left it several
months before, she prepared a bed within
for her baby, and, having fed him, she ad-
monished him to be quiet and left him alone.
She must return at once for the other little
cat.
But Igmu had gone through a great deal
since the day before. It was now almost
morning, and she was in need of food. She
remembered the cached deer on the Blacktail
Creek, and set out at once in that direction.
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The Greowt CoLt's Nursery
As usual, there were many fresh deer-tracks,
which, with the instinct of a hunter, she
paused to examine, half inclined to follow
them, but a second thought apparently im-
pelled her to hurry on to her cache.
The day had now dawned and things ap-
peared plain. She followed the creek-bed
all the way to the spot where she had killed
her deer on the day before. As she neared
it her hunger became more and more irre-
sistible ; yet, instead of rushing upon her own,
when she came within a few paces of it she
stopped and laid herself prone upon the
earth, according to the custom of her people.
She could not see it, for it was hidden in a
deep gully, the old bed of a dry stream. As
she lay there she switched her tail slowly
to and fro, and her eyes shot yellow fire.
Suddenly Igmu flattened out like a sun-
fish and began to whine nervously. Her
eyes became two flaming globes of wrath and
consternation. She gradually drew her
whole body into a tense lump of muscles,
ready to spring. Her lips unconsciously
contracted, showing a set of fine teeth — her
weapons — while the very ground upon which
she lay was deeply scarred by those other
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ILed Hunters o^ad the AnimA.! People
weapons, the claws. Eagerly she listened
once more — she could hear the cracking of
bones tinder strong teeth.
Her blood now surged beyond all discre-
tion and control. She thought of nothing
but that the thief, whoever he might be,
must feel the punishment due to his trespass.
Two long springs, and she was on top of a
wicked and huge grizzly, who was feasting on
Igmutanka's cached deer! He had finished
most of the tender meat, and had begun to
clean his teeth by chewing some of the car-
tilaginous bones when the attack came.
"Waw-waw-waw-waaw!'' yelled the old
root-digger, and threw his immense left arm
over his shoulder in an effort to seize his
assailant. At the same time her weight and
the force of her attack knocked him com-
pletely over and rolled him upon the sandy
ground.
Igmu saw her chance and did not forget
the usage of her people in a fight with his.
She quickly sprang aside when she found
that she could not hold her position, and
there was danger of Mato slashing her side
with either paw. She purposely threw her-
self upon her back, which position must have
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been pleasing to Mato, for he rushed upon
her with all the confidence in the world, being
ignorant of the trick.
It was not long before the old bear was
forced to growl and howl unmercifully. He
found that he could neither get in his best
fight for himself nor get away from such
a deadly and wily foe. He had hoped to
chew her up in two winks, but this was a
fatal mistake. She had sprung from the
ground under him and had hugged him tight
by burying the immense claws of her fore-
paws in his hump, while her hind claws tore
his loins and entrails. Thus he was left
only his teeth to fight with; but even this
was impossible, for she had pulled herself
up close to his neck.
When Mato discovered his error he strug-
gled desperately to get away, but his as-
sailant would not let go her vantage-
hold.
** Waw-waw-waw!" yelled the great boast-
ful Mato once more, but this time the tone
was that of weakness and defeat. It was a
cry of * * Murder ! murder ! Help ! help !' '
At last Igmutanka sprang aside, apparent-
ly to see how near dead the thief might be,
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Red Hunters SLiid the AnimeLl People
and stood lashing her long, snaky tail in-
dignantly.
" Waw - waw, yaw - waw!" moaned and
groaned the grizzly, as he dragged himself
away from the scene of the encounter. His
wounds were deadly and ugly. He lay
down within sight of the spot, for he could
go no farther. He moaned and groaned
more and more faintly; then he was silent.
The great fighter and victor in many battles
is dead!
Five paces from the remains of the cached
deer the victor, lying in the shade of an im-
mense pine, rested and licked her blood-
soaked hair. She had received many ugly
gashes, but none of them necessarily mortal.
Again she applied her soil and pitch-pine
remedy and stopped the hemorrhage. Hav-
ing done this, she realized that she was still
very hungry ; but Igmu could not under any
circumstances eat of the meat left and pol-
luted by the thief. She could not break the
custom of her people.
So she went across from Blacktail to the
nearest point upon Bear-runs-in-the-Lodge,
her former home, hoping to find some game
on the way. As she followed the ravine
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TKe Gre«Lt Cat's Nursery
leading from the creek of her fight she came
upon a doe and fawn. She crouched down
and crawled up close to them, then jiunped
upon the fawn. The luscious meat — she had
all she wanted !
The day was now well advanced, and the
harassed mother was growing impatient to
reach the babe which she had left in one of
the abandoned homes of Mrs. Bobtail Beaver.
The trip over the divide between Blacktail
and Bear-runs was quickly made. Fear,
loneliness, and anxiety preyed upon her
mind, and her body was weakened by loss
of blood and severe exertion. She dwelt
continually on her two babes, so far apart,
and her dread lest the wild men should get
one or both of them.
If Igmu had only known it, but one kitten
was left to her at that moment! She had
not left the cave on Cedar Creek more than
a few minutes when her own cousin, whom
she had never seen and who lived near the
Eagle's Nest upon the same creek, came out
for a hunt. She intercepted her track and
followed it.
When she got to the den it was clear to
Nakpaksa- (Tom Ear) that this was not a
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regular home, so that she had a right to enter
and investigate. To her surprise she found a
little Igmutanka baby, and he cried when
he saw her and seemed to be hungry. He
was the age of her own baby which she had
left not long before, and upon second thought
she was not sure but that he was her own
and that he had been stolen. He had evi-
dently not been there long, and there was no
one near to claim him. So she took him
home with her. There she found her own
kitten safe and glad to have a plajmiate, and
Nakpaksa decided, untroubled by any pangs
of conscience, to keep him and bring him up
as her own.
It is clear that had Igmu returned and
missed her baby there would have been
trouble in the family. But, as the event
proved, the cousin had really done a good
deed.
It was sad but unavoidable that Igmu
should pass near her old home in returning
for the other kitten. When she crawled
along the rocky ledge, in full view of the den,
she wanted to stop. Yet she could not re-
enter the home from which she had been
forced to flee. It was not the custom of her
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The Great Celt's Nursery
people to do so. The home which they va-
cate by chance they may re-enter and even
re-occupy, but never the home which they
are forced to leave. There are evil spirits
there!
Hurt and wearied, yet with courage un-
shaken, the poor savage mother glided along
the stream. She saw Mrs. Bobtail and her
old man cutting wood dangerously far from
the water, but she couJd not stop and warn
them ^ecause she had borrowed one of their
deserted houses without their permission.
"Mur-r-r-r!'* What is this she hears?
It is the voice of the wild men's coyotes! It
comes from the direction of the kitten's
hiding-place. Off she went, only pausing
once or twice to listen ; but it became more
and more clear that there was yelling of the
wild men as well.
She now ran along the high ledges, con-
cealing herself behind trees and rocks, until
she came to a point from which she could
overlook the scene. Quickly and stealthily
she climbed a large pine. Behold, the little
Igmu was up a small willow-tree! Three
Indians were trying to shake him down, and
their dogs were hilarious over the fun.
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R-ed Hunters o^nd the Anime^l People
Her eyes flamed once more with wrath and
rebellion against injustice. Could neither
man nor beast respect her rights? It was
horrible! Down she came, and with swift
and cautious step advanced within a very-
few paces of the tree before man or beast
suspected her approach.
Just then they shook the tree vigorously,
while the poor little Igmu, clinging to the
bough, yelled out pitifully, "Waw, waw,
waw!"
Mother-love and madness now raged in her
bosom. She could not be quiet any longer!
One or two long springs brought her to the
tree. The black coyotes and the wild men
were surprised and fled for their lives.
Igmu seized and tore the side of one of the
men, and threw a dog against the rocks with
a broken leg. Then in lightning fashion she
ran up the tree to rescue her kitten, and
sprang to the ground, carrying it in her teeth.
As the terrified hunters scattered from the
tree, she chose the path along the creek bot-
tom for her flight.
Just as she thought she had cleared the
danger-point a wild man appeared upon the
bank overhead and, quick as a flash, sent one
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The Gre«Lt ColI's Nursery
of those winged willows. She felt a sharp
pang in her side — a faintness — she cotild not
run! The little Igmu for whom she had
made such a noble fight dropped from her
mouth. She staggered towards the bank,
but her strength refused her, so she lay down
beside a large rock. The baby came to her
immediately, for he had not had any milk
since the day before. She gave one gentle
lick to his woolly head before she dropped
her own and died.
'*Woo, woo! Igmutanka ye lo! Woo,
woo!*' the shout of triumph resounded from
the cliffs of Bear-runs-in-the-Lodge. The
successful hunter took home with him the
last of the Igmu family, the little orphaned
kitten.
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On Wolf Mountain
ON the eastern slope of the Big Horn
Mountains, the Mayala clan of gray
wolves, they of the Steep Places, were follow-
ing on the trail of a herd of elk. It was a day
in late auttunn. The sun had appeared
for an instant, and then passed behind a
bank of cold cloud. Big flakes of snow were
coming down, as the lean, gray hunters
threaded a long ravine, cautiously stopping
at every knoll or divide to survey the outlook
before continuing their tincertain pursuit.
The large Mayala wolf with his mate and
their five full-grown pups had been driven
away from their den on account of their
depredations upon the only paleface in the
Big Horn valley. It is true that, from their
stand-point, he had no right to encroach upon
their hunting-grounds.
For three days they had been trailing over
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On Wolf Mountain
the Big Horn Mountains, moving southeast
towards Tongue River, where they believed
that no man would come to disturb them.
They had passed through a country full of
game, but, being conscious of the pursuit of
the sheepman and his party on tiieir trail,
they had not ventured to make an open
hunt, nor were they stopping anywhere long
enough to seek big game with success. Only
an occasional rabbit or grouse had furnished
them with a scanty meal.
From the Black Canon, the outlet of the
Big Horn River, there unfolds a beautiful
valley. Here the wild man's ponies were
scattered all along the river-bottoms. In a
sheltered spot his egg-shaped teepees were
ranged in circular form. The Mayala family
deliberately sat upon their hatinches at the
head of the canon and watched the people
moving, antlike, among the lodges.
Manitoo, the largest of the five pups, was a
famous nmner and htmter already. He
whimpered at sight of the frail homes of the
wild man, and wotdd fain have gotten to the
gulches again.
The old wolf rebuked his timidity with a
low growl. He had hunted many a time
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ILed Hunters and the Animal People
with one of these Red hunters as guide and
companion. More than this, he knew that
they often kill many buffalo and elk in one
hunting, and leave much meat upon the
plains for the wolf people. They respect his
medicine and he respects theirs. It is quite
another kind of man who is their enemy.
Plainly there was an unusual commotion
in the Sioux village. Ponies were brought
in, and presently all the men rode out in a
southerly direction.
"Woo-o-o!" was the long howl of the old
wolf. It sotmded almost like a cry of joy.
*' It is the buffalo-hunt! We must run to
the south and watch until the hunt is ended."
Away they went, travelling in pairs and at
some distance apart, for the sake of better
precaution. On the south side of the moun-
tain they stood in a row, watching hungrily
the hunt of the Red men.
There was, indeed, a great herd of buffalo
grazing upon the river plain siurounded by
foot-hills. The hunters showed their heads
on three sides of the herd, the fourth side
rising abruptly to the sheer ascent of the
mountain.
Now there arose in the distance a hoarse
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On Wolf Noufitaifi
shout from hundreds of throats in unison.
The trained ponies of the Indians charged
upon the herd, just as the wolves them-
selves had sometimes banded together for
the attack in better days of their people.
It was not greatly different from the first
onset upon the enemy in battle. Yelling
and brandishing their weapons, the Sioux
converged upon the unsuspecting buffalo,
who fled blindly in the only direction open
to them — straight toward the inaccessible
steep!
In a breath, men and shaggy beasts were
mixed in struggling confusion. Many ar-
rows sped to their mark and dead buffalo
lay scattered over the plain like big, black
mounds, while the panic-stricken survivors
fled down the valley of the Big Horn. In a
little while the successful hunters departed
with as much meat as their ponies could
carry.
No sooner were they out of sight than the
old wolf gave a feast-call. "Woo-o-o! woo,
woo, woo!" He was sure that they had left
enough meat for all the wolf people within
hearing distance. Then away they all went
for the hunting-ground — not in regular order,
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R.ed Hunters a,nd the Anima,! People
as before, but each one running at his best
speed. They had not gone far down the
slope before they saw others coming from
other hills — their gray tribesmen of the
rocks and plains.
The Mayala family came first to two large
cows killed near together. There is no doubt
that they were hungry, but the smell of
man offends all of the animal kind. They
had to pause at a distance of a few paces, as
if to make sure that there would be no trick
played on them. The old Mayala chief
knew that the man with hair on his face has
many tricks. He has a black, iron ring that
is hidden under earth or snow to entrap the
wolf people, and sometimes he puts medicine
on the meat that tortures and kills them.
Although they had seen these buffalo fall
before their brothers, the wild Red men,
they instinctively hesitated before taking the
meat. But in the mean time there were
others who came very hungry and who were,
apparently, less scrupulous, for they im-
mediately took hold of it, so that the Mayala
people had to hurry to get their share.
In a short time all the meat left from the
wild men's hunt had disappeared, and the
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On Wolf MountOLin
wolves began grinding the soft and spongy-
portions of the bones. The old ones were
satisfied and lay down, while the young ones,
like young folks of any race, sat up pertly
and gossipped or squabbled until it was time
to go home.
Suddenly they all heard a distant call — a
gathering call. ^^Woo-oo-oo!" After a few
minutes it came again. Every gray wolf
within hearing obeyed the summons without
hesitation.
Away up in the secret recesses of the Big
Horn Mountains they all came by tens and
hundreds to the war-meeting of the wolves.
The Mayala chief and his yoimg warriors
arrived at the spot in good season. Manitoo
was eager to know the reason of this great
coxmcil. He was young, and had never be-
fore seen such a gathering of his people.
A gaunt old wolf, with only one eye and
an immensely long nose, occupied the place
of honor. No human ear heard the speech
of the chieftain, but we can guess what he
had to say. Doubtless he spoke in defence
of his country, the home of his race and that
of the Red man, whom he regarded with tol-
eration. It was altogether different with
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R.ed Hunters and the Anlma,! People
that hairy-faced man who had lately come
among them to lay waste the forests and
tear up the very earth about his dwelling,
while his creatures devoured the herbage of
the plain. It would not be strange if war
were declared upon the intruder.
"Woo! woo! woo!*' The word of assent
came forth from the throats of all who heard
the command at that wild council among the
piled-up rocks, in the shivering dusk of a
November evening.
The northeast wind came with a vengeance
— every gust swayed and bent even the
mighty pines of the mountains. Soon the
land became white with snow. The air was
full of biting cold, and there was an awful-
ness about the night.
The sheepman at his lonely ranch had little
warning of the storm, and he did not get half
of his cows in the corral. As for the sheep,
he had already rounded them up before
the blizzard set in.
"My steers, I reckon, '11 find plenty of
warm places for shelter," he remarked to
his man. " I kinder expect that some of my
cows 11 suffer ; but the worst of it is the wolves
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On Wolf MountOLln
— confound them ! The brutes been howling
last night and again this evenin' from pretty
nigh every hill-top. They do say, too, as
that's a sure sign of storm!"
The long log-cabin creaked dismally under
the blast, and the windward windows were
soon coated with snow.
"What's that, Jake? Sounds like a lamb
bleating,'' the worried rancher continued.
Jake forcibly pushed open the rude door
and listened attentively.
** There is some trouble at the sheep-sheds,
but I can't tell just what 'tis. May be only
the wind rattling the loose boards," he sug-
gested, uncertainly.
** I expect a grizzly has got in among the
sheep, but I'll show him that he is at the
wrong door," exclaimed Hank Simmons,
with grim determination. **Get your rifle,
Jake, and we'll teach whoever or whatever
it may be that we are able to take care of our
stock in night and storm as well as in fair
weather!"
He pushed the door open and gazed out
into the darkness in his turn, but he could
not see a foot over the threshold. A terrific
gust of wind carried a pall of snow into the
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R.ed Hunters o^nd the Animal People
farthest comer of the cabin. But Hank
was a determined fellow, and not afraid of
hardship. He would spend a night in the
sod stable to watch the coming of a calf,
rather than run even a small chance of losing
it.
Both men got into their cowhide over-
coats and pulled their caps well down over
their ears. Rifle in hand, they proceeded
towards the sheep-corral in single file, Jake
carrying the lantern. The lambs were bleat-
ing frantically, and as they approached the
premises they discovered that most of the
sheep were outside.
**Keep yotir finger on the trigger, Jake!
All the wolves in the Big Horn Mountains
are here!*' exclaimed Hank, who was a few
paces in advance.
Had they been inexperienced men — but
they were not. They were both men of
nerve. **Bang! bang!'' came from two
rifles, through the frosty air and blinding
snow.
But the voice of the guns did not have the
demoralizing effect upon which 'they had
cotmted. Their assailants scarcely heard
the reports for the roar of the storm. Un-
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On Wolf Mo\int«Lln
daunted by the dim glow of the lantern,
they banded together for a fresh attack.
The growling, snarling, and gnashing of
teeth of hundreds of great gray wolves at
close quarters were enough to dismay even
Hank Simmons, who had seen more than
one Indian fight and hair-breadth advent-
ure.
**Bang! bang!" they kept on firing off
their pieces, now and then swinging the guns
in front of them to stay the mad rush of the
wild army. The lantern -light revealed the
glitter of a hundred pairs of fierce eyes and
shining rows of pointed teeth.
Hank noticed a lean, gray wolf with one
eye and an immense head who was fore-
most in the attack. Almost abreast of him
was a young wolf, whose great size and
bristhng hair gave him an air of ferocity.
'* Hold hard, Jake, or they'll pick our bones
yet!*' Hank exclaimed, and the pair began to
retreat. They found it all they could do to
keep off the wolves, and the faithful collie
who had fought beside them was caught
and dragged into darkness. At last Hank
pushed the door open and both men tum-
bled backward into the cabin.
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R.ed Hunters a,nd the Afilmal People
"Shoot! shoot! They have got me!"
yelled Jake. The other snatched a blazing
ember from the mud chimney and struck the
leading wolf dead partly within the hut.
**Gol dam them!" ejaculated Jake, as he
scrambled to his feet. **That young wolf is
a good one for fighting — he almost jerked
my right leg off!"
" Well, I'll be darned, Jake, if they haven't
taken one of your boots for a trophy," Hank
remarked, as he wiped the sweat from his
brows, after kicking out the dead wolf and
securely barring the door. "This is the
closest call I've had yet! I calculate to
stand off the Injuns most any time, but these
here wolves have no respect for my good
rifle!"
Wazeyah, the god of storm, and the wild
mob reigned outside the cabin, while the
two pioneer stockmen barricaded themselves
within, and with many curses left the sheep
to their fate.
The attack had stampeded the flock so
that they broke through the corral. What
the assailants did not kill the storm de-
stroyed. On the plateau in front of Ma-
yaska the wolves gathered, bringing lambs,
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On Wolf MountaLln
and here Manitoo put down Jake's heavy
cowhide boot, for it was he who fought side
by side with the one-eyed leader.
He was immediately surrotmded by the
others, who examined what he had brought.
It was clear that Manitoo had distinguished
himself, for he had stood by the leader until
he fell, and secured, besides, the only trophy
of the fight.
Now they all gave the last war-cry to-
gether. It was the greatest wolf-cry that
had been heard for many years upon those
mountains. Before daybreak, according to
custom, the clans separated, believing that
they had effectually destroyed the business
of the hairy-faced intruder, and expecting by
instant flight to elude his vengeance.
On the day before the attack upon the
ranch, an Indian from the camp in the valley
had been appointed to scout the motmtains
for game. He was a daring scout, and was
already far up the side of the peak which
overhung the Black Canon when he noticed
the air growing heavy and turned his pony's
head towards camp. He urged him on, but
the pony was tired, and, suddenly, a blinding
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R,ed Hunters And the AnlmoLl People
storm came sweeping over the mountain-
side.
The Indian did not attempt to guide his
intelligent beast. He merely fastened the
lariat securely to his saddle and followed
behind on foot, holding to the animal's tail.
He could not see, but soon he felt the pony
lead him down a hill. At the bottom it was
warm, and the wind did not blow much there.
The Indian took the saddle off and placed it
in a wash-out which was almost dry. He
wrapped himself in his blanket and lay down.
For a long time he could fe^l and hear the
foot-falls of his pony just above him, but at
last he fell asleep.
In the morning the stm shone and the
wind had subsided. The scout started for
camp, knowing only the general direction,
but in his windings he came by accident upon
the secret place, a sort of natural cave, where
the wolves had held their war meeting.
The signs of such a meeting were clear to
him, and explained the unusual number of
wolf -tracks which he had noticed in this re-
gion on the day before. Farther down was
the plateau, or wopata, where he found the
carcasses of many sheep, and there lay
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On Wolf MoufitOLin
Jake's boot upon the bloody and trampled
snow!
When he reached the camp and reported
these signs to his people, they received the
news with satisfaction.
**The paleface," said they, '*has no rights
in this region. It is against our interest to
allow him to come here, and our brother of
the wandering foot well knows it for a men-
ace to his race. He has declared war upon
the sheepman, and it is good. Let us sing
war-songs for the success of our brother!"
The Sioux immediately despatched runners
to learn the exact state of affairs upon Hank
Simmons's ranch.
In the mean time the ruined sheepman
had made his way to the nearest army post,
which stood upon a level plateau in front of
Hog's Back Mountain.
'* Hello, Hank, what's the matter now?"
quoth the sutler. "You look uncommonly
serious this morning. Are the Injuns on
your trail again?"
**No, but it's worse this time. The gray
wolves of the Big Horn Mountains attacked
my place last night and pretty near wiped us
out! Every sheep is dead. They even car-
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Red Hunters ^nd the AnlmeLl People
lied oflE Jake Hansen's boot, and he came
within one of being eaten aKve. We used up
every cartridge in our belts, and the bloody
brutes never noticed them no more than if
they were pebbles! I*m afraid the post
can't help me this time," he concluded, with
a deep sigh.
"Oh, the devil! You don't mean it,"
exclaimed the other. ** Well, I told you be-
fore to take out all the strychnine you could
get hold of. We have got to rid the country
of the Injuns and gray wolves before civili-
zation will stick in this region!"
Manitoo had lost one of his brothers in
the great fight, and another was badly hurt.
When the war-party broke up, Manitoo
lingered behind to look for his wotmded
brother. For the first day or two he would
occasionally meet one of his relations, but
as the clan started southeast towards Wolf
Mountain, he was left far behind.
When he had found his brother lying help-
less a little way from the last gathering of
the wolf people, he licked much of the blood
from his coat and urged him to rise and seek
a safer place. The wounded gray with diffi-
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On Wolf Mountain
culty got upon his feet and followed at some
distance, so that in case of danger the other
could give the signal in time.
Manitoo ran nimbly along the side gulches
tmtil he found a small cave. "Here you
may stay. I will go hunting,'* he said, as
plain as signs can speak.
It was not difficult to find meat, and a part
of Hank's mutton was brought to the cave.
In the morning Manitoo got up early and
stretched himself. His brother did not offer
to move. At last he made a feeble motion
with his head, opened his eyes and looked
directly at him for a moment, then closed
them for the last time. A tremor passed
through the body of the warrior gray, and he
was still. Manitoo touched his nose gently,
but there was no breath there. It was time
for him to go.
When he came out of the death-cave on
Plum Creek, Manitoo struck out at once for
the Wolf Mountain region. His instinct
told him to seek a refuge as far as possible
from the place of death. As he made his
way over the divide he saw no recent sign
of man or of his own kinsfolk. Nevertheless,
he had lingered too long for safety. The
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R.ed Hunters and the AnimoLl People
soldiers at the post had come to the aid of the
sheepman, and they were hot on his trail.
Perhaps his senses were less alert than usual
that morning, for when he discovered the
truth it was almost too late.
A long line of hairy-faced men, riding big
horses and armed with rifles, galloped down
the valley.
** There goes one of the gray devils!*'
shouted a corporal.
In another breath the awful weapons
talked over his head, and Manitoo was run-
ning at top speed through a hail of bullets.
It was a chase to kill, and for him a run for
his life. His only chance lay in reaching the
bad places. He had but two htmdred paces'
start. Men and dogs were gaining on him
when at last he struck a deep gulch. He
dodged the men around the banks, and their
dogs were not experts in that kind of coun-
try.
The Sioux nmners in the mean time had
appeared upon a neighboring butte, and the
soldiers, taking them for a war-party, had
given up the chase and returned to the post.
So, perhaps, after all, his brothers, the wild
hunters, had saved Manitoo's life.
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On Wolf Mountain
During the next few days the young wolf
proceeded with caution, and had finally
crossed the divide without meeting either
friend or foe. He was now, in truth, an out-
cast and a wanderer. He hunted as best he
could with very little success, and grew
leaner and hungrier than he had ever been
before in his life. Winter was closing in
with all its savage rigor, and again night and
storm shut down over Wolf Mountain.
The tall pines on the hill-side sighed and
moaned as a new gust of wind swept over
them. The snow came faster and faster.
Manitoo had now and again to change his
position, where he stood huddled up under an
overarching cliff. He shook and shook to
free himself from the snow and icicles that
clung to his long hair.
He had been following several black-tail
deer into a gulch when the storm overtook
him, and he sought out a spot which was
somewhat protected from the wind. It was
a steep place facing southward, well up on
the side of Wolf Mountain.
Buffalo were plenty then, but as Manitoo
was alone he had been unable to get meat.
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R.ed Hunters «Lf\d the Animal People
These great beasts are dangerous fighters
when wounded, and unless he had some help
it would be risking too much to tackle one
openly. A band of wolves will attack a
herd when very hungry, but as the buffalo
then make a fence of themselves, the bulls
facing outward, and keep the little ones in-
side, it is only by tiring them out and stam-
peding the herd that it is possible to secure
one.
Still the wind blew and the snow fell fast.
The pine-trees looked like wild men wrapped
in their robes, and the larger ones might have
passed for their cone-shaped lodges. Mani-
too did not feel cold, but he was soon covered
so completely that no eye of any of the wild
tribes of that region could have distinguished
him from a snow-clad rock or mound.
It is true that no good himter of his tribe
would willingly remain idle on such a day as
that, for the prey is weakest and most easily
conquered on a stormy day. But the long
journey from his old home had somewhat dis-
heartened Manitoo; he was weak from lack
of food, and, more than all, depressed by a
sense of his loneliness. He is as keen for the
companionship of his kind as his brother the
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On Wolf Mountain
Indian, and now he longed with a great
longing for a sight of the other members of
the Mayala clan. Still he stood there mo-
tionless, only now and then sniflfing the
unsteady air, with the hope of discovering
some passer-by.
Suddenly out of the gray fog and frost
something emerged. Manitoo was hidden
perfectly, but at that moment he detected
with joy the smell of one of his own people.
He sat up on his haunches awaiting the new-
comer, and even gave a playful growl by
way of friendly greeting.
The stranger stopped short as if frozen in
her tracks, and Manitoo perceived a lovely
maid of his tribe, robed in beautiful white
snow over her gray coat. She understood
the sign language of the handsome young
man, with as nice a pair of eyes as she had
ever seen in one of the wolf kind. She gave
a yelp of glad surprise and sprang aside a
pace or two.
Manitoo forgot his hunger and loneliness.
He forgot even the hairy-faced men with the
talking weapons. He lifted his splendid,
bushy tail in a rollicking manner and stepped
up to her. She raised her beautiful tail co-
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Red Hunters etnd the Animal People
quettishly and again leaped sidewise with
affected timidity.
Manitoo now threw his head back to sniff
the wind, and all the hair of his back rose up
in a perpendicular brush. Under other cir-
cumstances this would be construed as a sign
of great irritation, but this time it indicated
the height of joy.
The wild courtship was brief. Soon both
were satisfied and stood face to face, both
with plumy tail erect and cocked head.
Manitoo teasingly raised one of his fore-
paws. They did not know how long they
stood there, and no one else can tell. The
storm troubled them not at all, and all at
once they discovered that the sun was shin-
ing!
If any had chanced to be near the An-
telope's Leap at that moment, he would have
seen a beautiful sight. The cliff formed by
the abrupt ending of a little gulch was laced
with stately pines, all clad in a heavy gar-
ment of snow. They stood like shapes of
beauty robed in white and jewels, all fired
by the sudden bursting forth of the after-
noon sun.
The wolf maiden was beautiful ! Her robe
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On Wolf MountOLin
was fringed with icicles which shone brilliant-
ly as she stood there a bride. The last gust
of wind was like the distant dying away of
the wedding march, and the murmuring
pines said Amen.
It was not heard by human ear, but ac-
cording to the customs of the gray wolf clan
it was then and there Manitoo promised to
protect and hunt for his mate during their
Ufetime.
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The Dance of the Little People
IN full view of Wetaota, upon an open ter-
race half-way up the side of the hill in
the midst of virgin Big Woods, there were
grouped in an irregular circle thirty teepees
of the Sioux. The yellowish -white skin
cones contrasted quite nattu^ally with the
variegated foliage of September, yet all of
the woodland people knew well that they had
not been there on the day before.
Wetaota, the Lake of Many Islands, lies at
the heart of Haya Tanka, the Big Mountain.
It is the chosen home of many wild tribes.
Here the crane, the Canadian goose, the loon,
and other water-fowl come annually to breed
undisturbed. The moose are indeed the
great folk of the woods, and yet there are
many more who are happily paired here, and
who with equal right may claim it as their
domicile. Among them are some insig-
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The DoLiice of the Little People
nificant and obscure, perhaps only because
they have little or nothing to contribute to
the necessities of the wild man.
Such are the Little People of the Meadow,
who dwell under a thatched roof of coarse
grasses. Their hidden highways and cities
are f otind near the lake and along the courses
of the streams. Here they have toiled and
played and brought forth countless genera-
tions, and few can tell their life-story.
"Ho, ho, kola!" was the shout of a sturdy
Indian boy, apparently about ten years old,
from his post in front of the camp and over-
looking the lake. A second boy was coming
towards him through the woods, chanting
aloud a htmting song after the fashion of
their fathers. The men had long since de-
parted on the htmt, and Teola, who loved
to explore new country, had already made
the circuit of Wetaota. He had walked for
miles along its tortuous sandy shores, and
examined the signs of most of the inhabitants.
There were footprints of bears, moose,
deer, wolyes, mink, otter, and others. The
sight of them had rejoiced the young hunt-
er's heart, but he knew that they were for
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his elders. The woods were also full of
sqtdrrels, rabbits, and the smaller winged
tribes, and the waters aUve with the finny
folk, all of which are boys' game. Yet it
was the deUcate sign-language of the He-
tunkala, the Little People of the Meadow,
which had aroused the enthusiasm of Teola,
and in spite of himself he began to sing the
game scout's song, when Shungela heard and
gave him greeting.
"What is the prospect for our hunt to-
day?" called Shungela, as soon as his friend
was near enough to speak.
**Good!" Teola replied, simply. "It is a
land of fatness. I have looked over the
shores of Wetaota, and I think this is the
finest country I have ever seen. I am tired
enough of prairie-dog hunts and catching
young prairie-chickens, but there is every-
thing here that we can chase, kill, or eat."
Shungela at once circulated the good game
news among the boys, and in less time than
it takes an old man to tell a story all the
boys of the camp had gathered around a bon-
fire in the woods.
" You, Teola, tell us again what you have
seen," they exclaimed, in chorus.
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The DoLiice of the Little People
"I saw the footprint of every creature
that the Great Mystery has made! We can
fish, we can hunt the young crane, and snare
the rabbit. We can fool the owl for a night-
play," he replied, proudly.
**Ho, kola, washtay! Good news! good
news!*' one urchin shouted. Another ran up
a tree like a squirrel in the exuberance of his
deUght. **Heye, heye, he-e-e-e!** sang an-
other, joyously.
** Most of all in number are the Little Peo-
ple of the Meadow! Cotmtless are their tiny
footprints on the sandy shores of Wetaota!
Very many are their nests and furrows under
the heavy grass of the marshes! Let Shun-
gela be the leader to-day in our attack upon
the villages of the Little People,'' suggested
Teola, in whose mischievous black eyes and
shaggy mane one beheld the very picture of
a wild rogue.
"Ho, ho, hechetu!" they all replied, in
chorus.
**This is our first mouse-hunt this season,
and you all know the custom. We must
first make our tiny bows and arrows," he
said, again.
" Tosh, tosh ! Of course !" said they all.
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R.ed Hunters otHd the AnimeLl People
In the late afternoon the sun shone warmly
and everything was still in the woods, but
upon the lake the occasional cry of the loon
was heard. At some distance from the camp
thirty or more little redskins met together to
organize their mimic deer-hunt. They imi-
tated closely the customs and manners of
their elders while himting the deer. Shun-
gela gave the command, and all the boys
advanced abreast, singing their hunting song,
until they reached the meadow-land.
Here the leader divided them into two
parties, of which one went twenty paces in
advance, and with light switches raked aside
the dead grass, exposing a net-work of trails.
The homes of the Little People were under-
ground, and the doors were concealed by
last year's rank vegetation. While they
kneeled ready to shoot with the miniature
bow and arrows the first fugitives that might
pass, the second party advanced in turn,
giving an imitation of the fox-call to scare
the timorous Little People. These soon be-
came bewildered, missed their holes, and were
shot down with unerring aim as they fled
along their furrow-like paths.
There was a close rivalry among the boys
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The DoLiice of the Little People
to see who could bring down the largest num-
ber of the tiny fugitives, but it was forbidden
to open the homes or kill any who were in
hiding.
In a few minutes the mice were panic-
stricken, running blindly to and fro, and the
excitement became general.
** Yehe, yehe! There goes their chief! A
white mouse!*' exclaimed one of the boys.
"Stop shooting!'' came the imperative
command from the shaggy-haired boy.
** It is a good sign to see their chief, but it
is a very bad sign if we kill any after we have
seen him," he explained.
"I have never heard that this is so," de-
murred Shungela, unwilling to yield his au-
thority.
"You can ask your grandmother or your
grandfather to-night, and you will find that
I am right," retorted the shaggy-haired
one.
" Woo, woo !" they called, and all the others
came running.
" How many of you saw the white mouse ?"
Teola asked.
"I saw it!" "I too!" "I too!" repKed
several.
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ILed Hunters otiid the AnimeLl People
" And how many have heard that to see the
chief of the mouse people brings good luck if
the mice are spared after his appearance,
but that whoever continues to kill them in-
vites misfortune?*'
" I have heard it!" " And I !" " And I !"
The replies were so many that all the boys
were willing to concede the authenticity of
the story, and the hunt was stopped.
" Let us hear the mouse legends again this
evening. My grandfather will tell them to
us," Teola suggested, and not a boy there
but was ready to accept the invitation.
Padanee was an ordinary looking old Ind-
ian, except that he had a really extraordinary
pair of eyes, whose searching vision it seem-
ed that nothing could escape. These eyes of
his were well supported by an uncommonly
good memory. His dusky and furrowed
countenance was lighted as by an inner flame
when once he had wound the buflf alo-robe
about his lean, brown Umbs and entered upon
the account of his day's experience in the
chase, or prepared to relate to an attentive
circle some oft -repeated tradition of his
people.
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The DoLiice of the Little People
'* Hun, htin, hay !" The old savage cleared
his throat. A crowd of bright-eyed little
urchins had slipped quietly into his lodge.
"Teola tells me that you had all set out to
hunt down and destroy the Little People of
the Meadow, and were only stopped by seeing
their chief go by. I want to tell you some-
thing about the lives of these little creatures.
We know that they are food for foxes and
other animals, and that is as far as most of
us think upon the matter. Yet the Great
Mystery must have had some purpose in
mind when He made them, and doubtless
that is good for us to know."
Padanee was considered a very good sav-
age school-teacher, and he easily held his
audience.
"When you make mud animals," he con-
tinued, **you are apt to vary them a little,
perhaps for fun and perhaps only by acci-
dent. It is so with the Great Mystery. He
seems to get tired of making all the animals
alike, for in every tribe there are differences.
"Among the Hetunkala, the Little People,
there are several different bands. Some live
in one place and build towns and cities like
the white man. Some wander much over
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forest and prairie, like our own people.
These are very small, with long tails, and
they are great jumpers. They are the thieves
of their nation. They never put up any
food of their own, but rob the store-houses
of other tribes.
** Then there is the bobtailed mouse with
white breast. He is very much like the
paleface — always at work. He cannot pass
by a field of the w41d purple beans without
stopping to dig up a few and tasting to see
if they are of the right sort. These make
their home upon the low-lying prairies, and
fill their holes with great store of wild beans
and edible roots, only to be robbed by the
gopher, the skunk, the badger, who not only
steal from them but often kill and eat the
owner as well. Our old women, too, some-
times rob them of their wild beans.
**This fellow is always fat and well-fed,
like the white man. He is a harvester, and
his full store-houses are found all through
the bottom lands."
' * Ho, ho ! Washtay lo !' ' the boys shouted.
**Keep on, grandfather!*'
** Perhaps you have heard, perhaps not,"
resumed the old man. ** But it is the truth.
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The DoLi\ce of the Little People
These little folk have their own ways. They
have their plays and dances, like any other
nation/'
** We never heard it ; or, if we have, we can
remember it better if you will tell it to us
again!'* declared the shaggy-haired boy, with
enthusiasm.
**Ho, ho, ho!*' they all exclaimed, in
chorus.
"Each full moon, the smallest of the
mouse tribe, he of the very sharp nose and
long tail, holds a great dance in an open
field, or on a sandy shore, or upon the crusty
snow. The dance is in honor of those who
are to be cast down from the sky when the
nibbling of the moon begins; for these He-
ttmkala are the Moon-Nibblers."
As this new idea dawned upon Padanee's
listeners, all tightened their robes around
them and sat up eagerly.
At this point a few powerful notes of a
wild, melodious music burst spontaneously
from the throat of the old teacher, for he was
wont to strike up a song as a sort of inter-
lude. He threw his massive head back, and
his naked chest heaved up and down like a
bellows.
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R.ed Hunters and the AnimoLl People
** One of you must dance to this part, for
the story is of a dance and feast!" he ex-
claimed, as he began the second stanza.
Teola instantly slipped out of his buffalo-
robe and stepped into the centre of the
circle, where he danced crouchingly in the
firelight, keeping time with his Uthe brown
body to the rhythm of the legend-teller's
song.
**0-o-o-o!" they all hooted at the finish.
**This is the legend of the Little People of
the MeadoT?f. Hear ye! hear ye!*' said Pa-
danee.
**Ho-o-o!'' was the instant response from
the throats of the little Red men.
** A long time ago, the bear made a medi-
cine feast, and invited the medicine-men (or
priests) of all the tribes. Of each he asked
one question, * What is the best medicine (or
magic) of your tribe ?'
** All told except the little mouse. He was
pressed for an answer, but replied, 'That is
my secret.'
** Thereupon the bear was angry and jump-
ed upon the mouse, who disappeared in-
stantly. The big medicine - man blindly
grabbed a handful of grass, hoping to squeeze
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The DoLiice of the Little People
him to death. But all the others present
laughed and said, * He is on your back!'
**Then the bear rolled upon the ground,
but the mouse remained uppermost.
** * Ha, ha, haV laughed all the other medi-
cine-men. * You cannot get rid of him.*
"Then he begged them to knock him off,
for he feared the motise might run into his
ear. But they all refused to interfere.
** * Try your magic on him,' said they, * for
he is only using the charm that was given him
by the Great Mystery.'
" So the bear tried all his magic, but with-
out effect. He had to promise the little
mouse that, if he would only jump off from
his body, neither he nor any of his tribe would
ever again eat any of the Little People.
" Upon this the mouse jumped off.
**But now Hinhan, the owl, caught him
between his awful talons, and said:
***You must tell your charm to these peo-
ple, or I will put my charm on you!'
'*The little medicine-man trembled, and
promised that he would if the owl would let
him go. He was all alone and in their power,
so at last he told it.
***None of our medicine-men,' he began,
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R.ed Hunters aind the AnimaLl People
'dared to come to this lodge. I alone be-
lieved that you would treat me with the re-
spect due to my profession, and I am here/
Upon this they all looked away, for they
were ashamed.
** * I am one of the least of the Little Peo-
ple of the Meadow,' said the mouse. 'We
were once a favored people, for we were bom
in the sky. We were able to ride the roimd
moon as it rolls along. We were commis-
sioned at every full moon to nibble off the
bright surface little by little, until all was
dark. After a time it was again silvered
over by the Great Mystery, as a sign to the
Earth People.
** * It happened that some of us were care-
less. We nibbled deeper than we ought, and
made holes in the moon. For this we were
hurled down to the earth. Many of us were
killed; others fell upon soft ground and
lived. We do not know how to work. We
can only nibble other people's things and
carry them away to our hiding-places. For
this we are hated by all creatures, even by
the working mice of our own nation. But
we still retain our power to stay upon mov-
ing bodies, and that is our magic'
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The Darnce of the Little People
" ' Ho, ho, ho!' was the response of all pres-
ent. They were obliged to respond thus,
but they were angry with the little mouse,
because he had shamed them.
" It was therefore decreed in that medicine-
lodge that all the animals may kill the He-
tunkala wherever they meet them, on the
pretext that they do not belong upon earth.
All do so to this day except the bear, who is
obliged to keep his word.*'
" O-o-o-o!'' shouted the shaggy-haired boy,
who was rather a careless sort in his manners,
for one shotild never interrupt a story-
teller.
'* It is almost full moon now, grandfather,"
he continued, "and there are nice, open,
sandy places on the shore near the mouse
villages. Do you think we might see them
dancing if we should watch to-night?"
**Ho, takoja! Yes, my grandson," sim-
ply replied the old man.
The sand-bar in front of the Indian camp
was at some little distance, out of hearing
of the occasional loud laughter and singing
of the people. Wetaota was studded with
myriads of jewel-like sparkles. On the shad-
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R.ed Hunters aLiid the AnimaLl People
owy borders of the lake, tall trees bodied
forth mysterious forms of darkness. There
was something weird in all this beauty and
silence.
The boys were scattered along in the tall
grass near the sand-bar, which sloped down
to the water's edge as smooth as a floor.
All lay flat on their faces, rolled up in their
warm buffalo-robes, and still further con-
cealed by the shadows of the trees. The
shaggy-haired boy had a bow and some of
his best arrows hidden under his robe. No
two boys were together, for they knew by
experience the temptation to whisper under
such circumstances. Every redskin was
absorbed in watching for the Little People
to appear upon their playground, and at the
same time he must be upon the alert for an
intruder, such as Red Fox, or the Hooting-
owl of the woods.
"It seems strange," thought Teola, as he
lay there motionless, facing the far-off silvery
moon, **that these little folk should have
been appointed to do a great work," for he
had perfect faith in his grandfather's legend
of the Moon-Nibblers.
"Ah-h-h!" he breathed, for now he heard
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The DaLiice of the Little People
a faint squeaking in the thick grass and
rushes. Soon several tiny bodies appeared
upon the open, sandy beach. They were so
round and so tiny that one could scarcely de-
tect the motion of their little feet. They
ran to the edge of the water and others fol-
lowed them, until there was a great mass of
the Little People upon the clean, level sand.
**0h, if Hinhan, the owl, should come
now, he could carry away both claws full!*'
Teola fancied.
Presently there was a commotion among
the Hettuikala, and many of them leaped
high into the air, squeaking as if for a signal.
Teola saw hundreds of mice coming from
every direction. Some of them went close
by his hiding-place, and they scrutinized his
motionless body apparently with much care.
But the young hunter instinctively held his
breath, so that they could not smell him
strongly, and at last all had gone by.
The big, brown mice did not attend this
monthly carnival. They were too wise to
expose themselves upon the open shore to
the watchful eyes of their enemies. But
upon the mooidit beach the small people,
the Moon-Nibblers, had wholly given them-
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Red Hunters eind the AnimsLl People
selves up to enjoyment, and seemed to be
forgetful of their danger. Here on Wetaota
was the greatest gathering that Teola had
ever seen in all his life.
Occasionally he thought he noticed the
white mouse whom he supposed to be their
chief, for no reason except that he was diiler-
ent from the others, and that was the super-
stition.
As he watched, circles were formed upon
the sand, in which the mice ran round and
round. At times they would all stand still,
facing inward, while two or three leaped in
and out of the ring wdth wonderful rapidity.
There were many changes in the dance, and
now and then one or two would remain mo-
tionless in the centre, apparently in per-
formance of some ceremony which was not
clear to Teola.
All at once the entire gathering became,
in appearance, a heap of little round stones.
There was neither sound nor motion.
''Ho, ho, ho!'' Teola shouted, as he half
raised himself from his hiding-place and
flourished part of his robe in the clear moon-
light. A big bird went up softly among the
shadowy trees. All of the boys had been
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TK« DaLiic^ of tho Little People
SO fascinated by the dance that they had for-
gotten to watch for the commg of Hinhan,
the owl, and now this sudden transforma-
tion of the Little People ! Each one of them
had rolled himself into the shape of a pebble,
and sat motionless close to the sand to elude
the big-eyed one.
They remained so until the owl had left
his former perch and flown away to more
auspicious hunting-groimds. Then the play
and dance became more general and liveUer
than ever. The Moon - Nibblers were en-
tirely given over to the spirit and gayety of
the occasion. They ran in new circles,
sometimes each biting the tail of his next
neighbor. Again, after a great deal of
squeaking, they all sprang high in the air,
towards the calm, silvery orb of the moon.
Apparently they also beheld it in front of
them, reflected in the placid waters of We-
taota, for they advanced in columns to the
water's edge, and there wheeled into circles
and whirled in yet wilder dance.
At the height of the strange festival, an-
other alarm came from the shaggy-haired
boy. This time all the boys spied Red Fox
coming as fast as his legs could carry him
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Red Hunters SLnd the Animeil People
along the beach. He, too, had heard the
fairy laughter and singing of the Moon-
Nibblers, and never in his whole wild ca-
reer is he better pleased than when he
can catch a few of them for breakfast or
supper.
No people know the secret of the dance
except a few old Indians and Red Fox. He
is so clever that he is always on the watch
for it just before the full moon. At the first
sound that came to his sharp ears he knew
well what was going on, and the excite-
ment was now so great that he was assured
of a good supper.
**Hay-ahay! Hay-ahay!" shouted the
shaggy-haired boy, and he sent a swift arrow
on a dangerous mission for Red Fox. In a
moment there came another war-whoop, and
then another, and it was wisdom for the
hungry one to take to the thick woods.
" Woo, woo ! Eyaya lo ! Woo, woo !' ' the
boys shouted after him, but he was already
lost in the shadows.
The boys came together. Not a single
mouse was to be seen anywhere, nor would
any one suspect that they had been there in
such numbers a few moments earlier, ex-
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The DaLAc^ of the Little People
cept for the finest of tracery, like delicate
handwriting, upon the moonlit sand.
**We have learned something to-night,"
said Teola. *'It is good. As for me, I
shall never again go out to hunt the Little
People."
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Wechjih the Provider
"i^^^OME, Wechah, come away! the dogs
v»> will tease you dreadfully if they find
you up a tree. Enakanee (hurry) !*• Wasula
urged, but the mischievous Wechah still
chose to remain upon the projecting lirnb of
an oak which made him a comfortable seat.
It was apparently a great temptation to him
to climb every large, spreading tree that
came in his way, and Wasula had had some
thrilling experiences with her pet when he
had been attacked by the dogs of the camp
and even by wild animals, so it was no
wonder that she felt some anxiety for him.
Wasula was the daughter of a well-known
warrior of the Rock Cliff villagers of the
Minnesota River. Her father had no son
living, therefore she was an only child, and
the most-sought-after of any maiden in that
band. No other girl cotdd boast of Wasula's
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Wechah th« Provider
skill in paddling the birch canoe or running
upon snow-shoes, nor cotdd any gather the
wild rice faster than she. She could pitch
the prettiest teepees, and her nimble, small
fingers worked very skilfully with the needle.
She had made many embroidered tobacco-
pouches and quivers which the young men
were eager to get.
More than all this, Wasula loved to roam
alone in the woods. She was passionately
fond of animals, so it was not strange that,
when her father fotmd and brought home
a baby raccoon, the maiden took it for her
own, kept it in an upright Indian cradle
and played mother to it.
Wasula was as pretty and free as a teal-
duck, or a mink with its slender, graceful
body and small face. She had black, glossy
hair, hanging in two plaits on each side of
her head, and a calm, childlike face, with a
delicate aquiline nose. Wechah, when he
was first put into her hands, was nothing
more than a tiny ball of striped fur, not un-
like a little kitten. His bright eyes already
shone with some suggestion of the mischief
and cunning of his people. Wasula made a
perfect baby of him. She even carved all
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Red Hunters and the Animal People
sorts of playthings out of hoof and bone, and
tied them to the bow of the cradle, and he
loved to play with them. He apparently
understood much that she said to him, but
he never made any attempt to speak. He
preferred to use what there is of his own lan-
guage, but that, too, he kept from her as well
as he could, for it is a secret belonging only
to his tribe.
Wechah had now grown large and hand-
some, for he was fat and sleek. They had
been constantly together for over a year,
and his foster - mother had grown very
much attached to him. The young men
who coiuted Wasula had conspired at differ-
ent times against his life, but upon second
thought they realized that if Wasula should
suspect the guilt of one of them his chance of
winning her would be lost forever.
It is true he tried their patience severely,
but he could not help this, for he loved his
mistress, and his ambition was to be first in
her regard. He was very jealous, and, if any
one appeared to divide her attention, he
would immediately do something to break
up the company. Sometimes he would re-
sort to hiding the young man's quiver, bow,
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Weoha.h the Provider
or tomahawk, if perchance he put it down.
Again he would pull his long hair, but they
could never catch him at this. He was
quick and sly. Once he tripped a proud
warrior so that he fell sprawling at the feet
of Wasula. This was embarrassing, and he
would never again lay himself open to such
a mishap. At another time he pulled the
loose blanket off the suitor, and left him
naked. Sometimes he would pull the eagle
feather from the head of one and run up a
tree with it, where he would remain, and no
coaxing could induce him to come down until
Wasula said :
"Wechah, give him his feather! He de-
sires to go home."
Wechah truly thought this was bright and
cunning, and Wasula thought so too. While
she always reprimanded him, she was in-
wardly grateful to him for breaking the mo-
notony of courtship or rebuking the pre-
sumption of some unwelcome suitor.
**Come down, Wechah!" she called, again
and again. He came part way at last, only
to take his seat upon another limb, where he
formed himself into a veritable muff or
nest upon the bough in a most tmconcemed
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Red Hunters eind the Animeil People
way. Any one else would have been so ex-
asperated that all the dogs within hearing
would have been called into service to bay
him down, but Wasula's love for Wechah
was truly strong, and her patience with him
was extraordinary. At last she struck the
tree a sharp blow with her hatchet. The
little fellow picked himself up and hastily de-
scended, for he knew that his mistress was
in earnest, and she had a way of pimishing
him for disobedience. It was simple, but it
was sufficient for Wechah.
Wasula had the skin of a buffalo calf's
head for a work-bag, beautifully embroid-
ered with porcupine quills about the open
mouth, nose, eyes, and ears. She would slip
this over Wechah's head and tie his fore-paws
together so that he could not pull it off.
Then she would take him to the spring tinder
the shadow of the trees and let him look at
himself. This was enough punishment for
him. Sometimes even the mention of the
calf s head was enough to make him sub-
mit.
Of course, the little Striped Face could take
his leave at any time that he became dis-
satisfied with his life among the Red people.
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WechaLh the Provider
Wasula had made it plain to him that he was
free. He could go or stay ; but, apparently,
he loved her too well to think of leaving.
He would ctirl himself up into a ball and lie
by the hour upon some convenient branch
while the girl was cutting wood or sitting
tmder a tree doing her needle - work. He
would study her every movement, and very
often divine her intentions.
Wasula was a friend to all the little people
of the woods, and especially sympathized
with the birds in their love-making and home-
building. Wechah must learn to respect
her wishes. He had once stolen and de-
voured some yoimg robins. The parent
birds were frantic about their loss, which
attracted the girl's attention. The wicked
animal was in the midst of his feast.
*' Glechu ! glechu (Come down) !'' she called,
excitedly. He fully understood from the
tone that all was not right, but he would
not jump from the tree and run for the deep
woods, thereby avoiding pimishment and
gaining his freedom. The rogue came down
with all the outward appearance of one who
pleads guilty to the charge and throws him-
self upon the judge's mercy. She at once
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Red Hunters and the Animal People
put him in the calf's head and bound his legs,
and he had nothing to eat for a day and a
night.
It was a great trial to both of them.
Wadetaka, the dog, for whom he had no
special love, was made to stand guard over
the prisoner so that he could not get away
and no other dog could take advantage of
his helplessness. Wasula was very sorry for
him, but she felt that he must learn his lesson.
That night she lay awake for a long time.
To be sure, Wechah had been good and quiet
all day, but his tricks were many, and she
had discovered that his people have danger-
calls and calls for help quite different from
their hunting and love calls.
After everybody was asleep, even Wade-
taka apparently snoring, and the camp-fire
was burning low, there was a gentle move-
ment from the calf's -head bag. Wasula
tmcovered her head and listened. Wechah
called softly for help.
"Poor Wechah! I don't want him to be
angry with me, but he must let the little
birds' homes alone."
Again Wechah gave his doleful call. In
a little while she heard a stealthy footfall,
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Wecha.h the Provider
and at the same time Wadetaka awoke and
rushed upon something.
It was a large raccoon ! He ran up a near-
by tree to save himself, for Wadetaka had
started all the dogs of the camp. Next the
htmters came out. Wasula hurriedly put on
her moccasins and ran to keep the men from
shooting the rescuer.
Wechah's friend took up his position upon
one of the upper limbs of a large oak, from
which he looked down with blazing eyes
upon a motley crew. Near the root of the
tree Wechah lay curled up in a helpless ball.
The new-comer scarcely understood how
this unfortunate member of his tribe came
into such a predicament, for when some one
brought a torch he was seen to rise, but im-
mediately fell over again.
** Please do not kill him,'' pleaded Wasula.
*' It is a visitor of my pet, whom I am pun-
ishing for his misconduct. As you know,
he called for help according to the custom of
his tribe.''
They all laughed heartily, and each Indian
tied up his dog for the rest of the night, so
that the visitor might get away in safety,
while the girl brought her pet to her own bed.
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It was the Moon of Falling Leaves, and the
band to which Wasula's father belonged were
htmting in the deep woods in Minnesota, the
Land of Sky-colored Water. The band had
divided itself into many small parties for the
fall and winter hunt. When this partictilar
party reached Minnetonka, the Big Lake,
they found the hunting excellent. Deer were
plenty, and the many wooded islands afford-
ed them good feeding - places. The men
htmted daily, and the women were busy pre-
paring the skins and curing the meat. We-
chah wandered much alone, as Wasula was
busy helping her mother.
All went well for many weeks; and even
when the snow fell continuously for many a
day and the wind began to blow, so that no
htmter dared emerge from his teepee, there
was dried venison still and all were cheerful.
At last the stm appeared.
" Hoye ! hoye !** was the cheerful cry of the
htmting bonfire -builder, very early in the
morning. As it rang musically on the clear,
frosty air, each hunter set out, carrying his
snow-shoes upon his back, in the pleasant
anticipation of a good hunt. After the
customary smoke, they all disappeared in
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Wechflih the Provider
the woods on the north shore of Minne-
tonka.
Alas ! it was a day of evil fortune. There
was no warning. In the late afternoon one
came back bleeding, singing a death-dirge.
*'We were attacked by the Ojibways! All
are dead save myself!''
Thus was the little camp suddenly plunged
into deep sorrow and mourning. Doleful
wails came forth from every lodge, and the
echoes from the many coves answered them
with a double sadness.
Again the storm-wind raged. This time
the dried meat was gone, and all the women
did nothing but bewail their misfortimes.
**The evil spirit is upon us!'' they cried.
**The enemy has taken away our husbands,
and now Wazeeyah, the god of storm and
winter, is ready to slay us !' ' So they mourn-
ed as those having no hope.
When at last the storm ceased, the snow
was very deep. The little ones were fam-
ished. There was no meat in the camp and
there were no hunters to hunt. They were
far from their permanent village upon the
Minnesota River. They must have food
first, and then try to get back. So, for the
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Red Hunters and the Animal People
children's sake, the brave mothers and elder
sisters began to look about them to decide
upon some action.
*' Wasula, my child, what are you thinking
of?*' the mother asked.
"Mother, my father taught me to htmt,
and he took so much pride in my snow-shoe-
ing! See, mother, here is one of his quivers
full of arrows, and here is a good bow." The
girl spoke earnestly. ** I can take care of you,
mother, until we get back to our relatives.
I can shoot as straight as any brave, and my
father taught me how to circle a doe or buck
to a standstill. Wechah will go with me and
guide me, so that I shall not be lost,'* con-
tinued Wasula, with a show of cheerfulness.
'' But you must be careful, my child ! The
Ojibways are not far away. Some of their
warriors will perhaps have a mind to come
again, now that they have overcome all the
men of our little band," sadly warned the
mother.
Meanwhile Wechah sat by watching every
motion, as if trying to read their thoughts.
He was evidently delighted when Wasula
girdled herself and threw her snow-shoes di-
agonally across her back. He gave one big,
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Wecha.h the Provider
joyous leap and ran out of sight ahead of her
as she set out on the hunt. Her poor mother
watched her through the pin-holes in the
teepee. '*Ah, I fear — I fear the dreadful
warriors of the Ojibways!'' she muttered.
They went over the snow-clad Minnetonka
towards Crane Island, and the famished girl
was scarcely able to run upon snow-shoes, al-
though ordinarily it was an easy task for her.
Her people had been living upon rose-berries
and roots. Wechah, with a light foot, ran
ahead of her into the thick woods.
No sooner was he out of sight of home than
all his native cunning vividly returned to
him, and the desire to find whatever was in
his way. Through the frosty air and among
the snow-clad multitudinous trees he swiftly
ran. His ancient calling thrilled him through
and through. Now and then he ran up a
tree, leaped far into the soft snow, and away
he glided again. Not yet do the wild in-
habitants of the woods come out for their
guest, at least not upon Crane Island, for
Wechah had not crossed a single trail.
Deep in the forest at last the little Striped
Face gave his signal-call, according to the
custom of his people. Wasula turned in the
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R.ed Hui\t«rs and the Animal People
direction of the sound and peered sharply-
through the snow-laden boughs. There he
stood upon a large limb, anxiously awaiting
her coming.
He leaped from his high perch toward her,
struck the ground like a pillow, and made the
soft snow fly up like loose feathers.
** I see — I see your deer-track,** she laughed
at him. "We shall try to get one! You
must now follow me, Wechah. It is Wasula's
turn to lead.*'
The maiden's bow was carefully examined,
and she picked out one of her best arrows.
Instead of following the trail, like a true
hunter she started with the wind and ran
along for some distance, then described a
circle, coming just inside of her starting-
point. Again she made another circle within
the first, but no deer had crossed her track.
Upon the third round she spied them hiding
behind a large, fallen oak, whose dead leaves
afforded some shelter. As she described
another circle to get within arrow-shot, the
doe stretched out at full length upon the
snow, laying her ears back, rabbit-like, to es-
cape detection. Wasula knew the trick of
holding her. She did not pause for an in-
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W«cha.h the Provider
stant, but ran along until she gained an
opening for a shot. Then she turned quickly
upon the quivering doe and let her swift
arrow fly.
Instantly the doe and her two full-grown
fawns got up and sprang away through the
woods and out of sight. Wasula had seen
her arrow enter the doe's side. She exam-
ined the trail — it showed drops of blood —
and immediately the huntress followed the
trail.
In a few moments she heard Wechah give
his shrill, weird 'coon -call. Through an
alley between rows of trees she saw him
standing proudly upon the dead body of
Takcha.
**0h, I thank thee, Great Mystery! I
thank you, Wechah, for yotu* kind guid-
ance,'* Wasula spoke, in a trembling voice.
She took her hunting-knife from her belt and
skinned the legs of the doe up to the knee-
joints. Having unjointed them, she drew
the fore-legs backward and fastened them
securely; then she put her hunting*strap
through the imder-jaw and attached her
carrying-straps. Thus she proceeded to drag
the body home.
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R.ed Hunters a.nd the Anifna.1 People
Wechah was as happy as if he had shot the
deer himself. Wastda realized that her peo-
ple were starving and she ran as fast as she
could, but before she was half-way across
the lake her companion was in camp. As she
approached the shore, the stronger of the
women came running to meet and relieve
her of her burden. They were overwhelmed
with joy. She sUpped off her shoulder-
straps and ran to her mother, while two of
the others hitched themselves to her carry-
ing-lines and ran with the deer. ** Wasula,
heroine, huntress! The gracious and high-
minded!" In such wise the old people sang
her praises.
Several of the women had been out htmt-
ing, like Wasula, but none were as successful
as she and Wechah had been. Some brought
back a single rabbit or a grouse to qxiiet their
crying babies. One brought a dead raccoon
which she had found in a trap. Wasula was
sorry when Wechah saw this and became
visibly depressed.
When all the venison had been eaten, the
rigor of winter still held in this northern
clime. The maiden hunted every day, but
without success. One afternoon the sun was
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Wecha.h the Provider
getting low and she was still far from camp,
but she cotild not bear to go back empty-
handed. She felt that upon her success de-
pended the Uves of the others, for they could
not yet move on foot toward the village
on the Minnesota River — the children would
suffer cruelly in such an attempt.
She was upon the trail of Shunktokecha,
the wolf — not that she had any hope of over-
taking him, but it is well known that he is a
good guide. Wechah, too, was apparently
tmwilling to leave the trail. Their course
was directed toward one of the outlets of
the lake.
When they reached this stream, other
trails joined the one they were following,
making a broad path, and here and there the
ice of the creek was scratched by the wolf
people as they passed. The huntress quick-
ened her steps in renewed hope. She knew
that upon the trail there lies much of joy,
of fascination, and catastrophe; but every
trailer only keeps the joy in mind — it is
enough to realize misfortune when it comes !
Around a sudden bend of the frozen creek
another hunter's voice was heard. It was
Kangee, the raven. ''Surely, there is game
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Red Hunters and the Animal People
there, dead or alive, for Kangee never speaks
without a cause,'' she murmured.
Now Wechah disappeared around the
point, and when she came into full view she
saw her pet jerk out of the stream something
living. As the object fell it curved itself
upon the ice and again sprang glittering in
the air.
Wasula laughed, in spite of herself, the
sing-song laugh of the wild maid of the woods.
**Hoya! hoya!'* she screamed, and ran for-
ward. Again and again Wechah snatched
out of the live water a large fish. When she
reached the spring in the creek, her pet had
already taken out enough to feed the whole
camp.
The girl fell on her knees and peered into
the water. It was packed to the ice with
the spring exodus of the finny tribes of Minne-
tonka for the spawning! Every year, before
the spring opens, they crowd upon one an-
other in the narrow passes of the streams.
There was a spring here where the ice was
open, and hence the broad trail and the
scratches of wolves, bears, raccoons, crows,
ravens, and many more.
'*Good Wechah! We shall live now — our
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Wecha.h the Provider
people cannot starve/' said Wasula, feeling-
ly, to her pet. Her responsibility as the main
support of the camp was greatly lightened.
At last she took her hunting-knife from her
belt and stripped the bark from a near-by
birch. She shaped it into a rough canoe and
threw into it as many fish as it would hold.
The sun already hovered among the tree-
tops as she hitched herself by means of her
carrying-lines to the canoe-shaped tray full
of fish and started homeward across an arm
of the frozen lake.
Wechah ran playfully in front of her. The
wild pet was full of his ctmning ways. When
they reached a wooded shore he suddenly
disappeared, and the girl did not know which
way he went. Presently she thought she
heard a baby cry away off in the woods ; in a
little while there seemed to be a skunk calling,
nearer, and still nearer; again she heard the
call of an owl. Finally the mimic rushed
upon her from behind the shadow of a huge
pine, swiftly pursued by a bob-tailed 'coon.
'*Ugh, Wechah! are you afraid of Sintay?
'Tis he is wicked and full of cunning! He
has broken away from several steel traps, and
he always takes the bait of a deadfall with-
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R.ed Hunters a.nd the Anifna.1 People
out harm to himself. If he ever chases you
again I will punish him,'* declared the hunt-
ress.
On seeing Wasula, the animal had dis-
appeared among the shadows almost as mys-
teriously as he emerged from them. It was
now the close of Wechah tawee, the 'coon's
month, when the male raccoon leaves his
winter quarters and begins to look for com-
pany. This particular individual was well
known to the Indian hunters upon Lake
Minnetonka. As Wasula had said, he was
the cunningest of his tribe, and he was also
unusually large and of a savage disposition.
True, he fared luxuriously every day upon
berries, mice, fish, frogs, eggs from the
swamps, and young birds not yet able to
fly. Then he sleeps a long and happy sleep
through the coldest moons of the year, un-
disturbed save when the Red man and his
dogs are about — he who loves to eat the fat
of the 'coon and makes a beautiful robe of
his striped skin!
** You must keep away from Sintay, for he
is dangerous," said Wasula, who always
talked to her pet as if he understood every
word she said. Nevertheless, while she strug-
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Wecha.h the Provider
gled on with her load he had once more dis-
appeared. Soon a cry from him attracted
her attention, and turning a little aside from
her path, she beheld Sintay sitting upon a
snow-covered log at the root of a large hol-
low tree, holding a comb of wild honey in his
two paws, listening angrily and growling
over his interrupted meal. In a moment
something sprang into the air directly over
his head and alighted in front of him. It
was Wechah.
Sintay screamed and clawed the air with
his right paw, at the same time clinging to
the comb with the left. The new-comer
bravely faced him. Both were desperately
in earnest, growling and snapping their
sharp teeth. The bee-tree was the bone of
contention, and it was well worth a fight.
Striking out with his big right paw, the
tame raccoon launched forth to secure the
comb, whereupon Sintay struck at him with
his disengaged paw, but refused to let go
with the other. It was a ludicrous sight,
and Wasula could not help laughing, es-
pecially when her pet succeeded in tearing
away a part of the comb and the contents
were generously daubed over their ftir. But
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Red Hunters and the Anima.! People
the fight soon became serious, and Wechah
was getting the worst beating he had ever
had when his mistress interfered. She struck
at Sintay with her drawn bow and he dodged
quickly behind the tree, still unwilling to
leave it to the intruders, but at last he fled.
It was the best thing for him to do!
Wechah stood before Wastda bleeding, his
robe of fine fur sadly ruffled and plastered
with honey and snow. He looked sorry for
himself, yet proud of his discovery, and there
was no time now to pity or rejoice. On they
ran till, within hailing distance of the camp,
the girl gave the wolf -call. The others were
already very anxious. *'She is coming!*'
they cried to one another, joyously, and two
went forth to meet her, for her call meant a
successful hunt.
Thus the maiden and her tame raccoon
saved several families from starvation. The
run of fish would last for days, and there was
much honey in the tree, which they secured
on the following day.
** It is my wish,*' said Wasula, *'that you
do not trap the 'coon again this season, for
the sake of Wechah, who has saved tis all.
In gratitude to him, withdraw your deadfalls."
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Wechah the Provider
All agreed to this. Yet one spring morn-
ing when they were about to set out on the
return journey he was not to be found, and
no one had seen him. The huntress im-
mediately took down her bow and quiver
and searched for his track, which she fol-
lowed into the woods. Her love for Wechah
had never been fully realized by the people
or perhaps even by herself. ** If Sintay has
met and taken revenge upon him, I shall not
return without his scalp,*' she said to herself.
Over the still frozen lake to the nearest
island lay Wechah's well-known track, and
he was apparently hunting for company.
It was the time of year when his people do
so. He had run far and wide, meeting here
and there a bachelor 'coon. The tracks told
the story of how they merely dared one an-
other and parted.
At last the trail lay over a slope overlook-
ing a httle cove, where there stood a large
sugar-maple. The upper quarter of it had
been torn off by lightning, leaving a very
high sttmip. Wechah*s tracks led directly
to this tree, and the scratches on its bark
plainly told who lived there. It was the
home of Wechawee, the 'coon maid.
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Red Hunters and the Animal People
Wastila took her small hatchet from her
belt and struck several qtiick blows. There
was a scrambling inside, and in a moment
Wechah poked his quaint striped face from
the top. He looked very much abashed.
Like a guilty dog he whined, but showed no
desire to come down.
** Wechah, you frightened me! I thought
you had been killed. I am glad now, my
heart is good, that you have foimd your
mate.*'
At this Wechah's new wife pushed her
ctmning head out beside that of her husband.
Wasula stood looking at them both for a few
minutes with mingled pleasure and sorrow,
and ere she left she sang a maiden's serenade
to the bridegroom — the foimder of a new
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The Mustering of the Herds
'*jyyiOO! Moo!" rang out the deep, air-
i V 1 rending call — ^the gathering call of the
herds! Hinpoha, or Curly Hair, the young
bison mother, threw back her head and lis-
tened nervously. She. stood over her new-
bom baby in a hidden nook upon the Shae-
yela River, that flows through the Land of
Mystery.
No one was there to see, except two mag-
pies which were loitering in the neighbor-
hood, apparently waiting for the mother to
go away that they might tease the helpless
infant.
Tenderly she licked the moist hair of her
dear one's coat, while the beautiful black-
and-white bird with the long tail talked to
his mate of mischief and plunder. Then the
mother gently poked and pushed her little
one, persuading her to get up and try her
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Red Hunters and the AnimoLl People
tiny, soft-soled feet. It was evident that
she was not a common bison calf. Her color
was not reddish brown, but a soft, creamy-
white, like that of a sheep — the color of
royalty!
She toddled about tmsteadily upon the
thick mat of buffalo-grass. As she learned
to walk, step by step, the young mother fol-
lowed her with anxious eyes. Presently the
little creature made a feeble attempt at
running. She lifted up her woolly tail, ele-
vated a pair of transparent, leaf -like ears,
and skipped awkwardly around her mother,
who never took her black, limpid eyes from
her wonderful first-bom.
' * Moo ! Moo !' ' Again Hinpoha heard the
impatient gathering call. Hastily she push-
ed her baby with caressing nose into an old
buffalo - wallow overhtmg with tall grass,
making a little cosey nest. The drooping
grass, like the robe of the Indian, concealed
the little calf completely.
**You must stay here,'' she signed. **Do
not open your eyes to any stranger. Do not
move at all.'*
Hinpoha trotted northward, following the
ravine in which she had hidden her calf. No
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The Mustering of the Herds
sooner had she disappeared from sight than
those old plunderers, magpie and his mate,
swooped down from the lone willow-tree that
overhtmg the spot. Both perched lightly
upon the edge of the buffalo-wallow. They
saw and heard nothing. They looked at
each other in surprise. *'Ka, ka, ka," they
talked together, wondering what had become
of the baby bison.
Up the long ascent Hinpoha ran, until she
reached a point from which she could com-
mand the valley and the place where she had
hidden away her treasure. Her watchful
eyes ranged round the horizon and swept the
surrotmding country. There was not a wolf
there, she thought. She could see the lone
willow-tree that marked the spot. Beyond,
the rough ridges and occasional buttes were
studded with pines and cedars, while the
white pillars and towers of the Bad Lands
rose grandly in the distance.
As she went on to rejoin her herd upon the
plains of the Shaeyela, she beheld upon the
flats the bison women gathered in great,
black masses, while on either side of them
the buffalo men roamed in small groups or
singly, like walking pine-trees. Shaeyela
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R.ed Hunters «k.nd the Animal People
had never looked more lovely than on that
morning in early spring — a warm, bluish
haze brooding over it — the big, ungainly
cottonwoods, their branches knotted and
gnarled like the naked Umbs of the old men,
guarding the thin silver line of the river.
Hinpoha ran swiftly down the last descent,
now and then pausing for a moment to an-
notmce her coming. Ordinarily she would
have returned to her people qtiietly and un-
noticed, but she was excited by the tmex-
pected summons and moved to reply. As
she entered the valley she saw other buffalo
women returning from their spring nurseries
in the gulches, giving their responses as they
came. There was an tmdertone murmur
throughout the great concourse. All seemed
to be moving toward the edge of the belt
of timber that clothed the river -banks.
They pressed through a scattered growth
of gray-green buffalo-berry bushes.
By the signs of the buffalo women and the
sound of their lowings, Hinpoha knew that
this was a funeral gathering. She hastened
on with mingled curiosity and anxiety.
Within a circle of the thorny buffalo-berry
trees, under a shivering poplar, lay the life-
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The Mustering of the Herds
less form of Ptesanwee, the white buffalo
cow, the old queen of the Shaeyela herd.
Here all the dusky women of the plains
had gathered to pay their last respects to
their dead leader. Hinpoha pushed her
way into the midst of the throng for a part-
ing look. She joined in the wailing of the
other bison women, and the noise of their
mourning echoed like distant thunder from
the opposite cliffs of the Shaeyela.
No bull buffalo was allowed to come near
while the women hovered about their dead
leader. These had to return to their nur-
series at last, and then it was that the buffalo
men approached in great numbers. The
sound of their mourning was great! They
tore up the sod with their hoofs as they
wailed loudly for the dead.
The sun hovered over the western hills
ere the gathering dispersed. The dead was
left to the silent night to cover, and the
lonely poplar sang a soft funeral song over
her.
Hinpoha found her baby fast asleep when
she reached her nursery upon Willow Creek.
The little creature was fed, and played about
her mother, grazing in the quiet valley,
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ICed Hunters OLiid the Animal People
where none might see the cradle of their
future queen.
At the next mid-day, Hinpoha saw many
of the bison people fleeing by her secret
camp. She at once suspected the neigh-
borhood of the Red hunters. "I shall go
away, so that they will not find my teepee
and my baby,*' she said to herself. Accord-
ingly she came out and followed the trail of
the fugitives in order to deceive the wild
man, but at night she returned to her nur-
sery.
Upon the Shaeyela River, below the camp
of the buffalo people, the wild Red men were
likewise encamped in great ntimbers. Spring
was here at last, and nearly all of the snow
had gone, even from the gulches and deep
ravines.
A joyous hunting song pealed forth loudly
from the council-lodge of the Two Kettle
band. The great drum beat a prelude to
the announcement heralded throughout the
camp.
''Hear ye, hear ye, warriors! The game
scout has come back with the news that the
south forlj of the Shaeyela is full of the
buffalo people. It is the will of the council
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The Mustering of the Herds
that the yoting men should now make the
great spring himt of the bison. Fill yotir
quivers with good arrows. Try your bows.
Heya, heya, ha-a-a-a!" Thus the herald
circled the large encampment.
**Woo! woo!*' came from the coimcil-
lodge — a soldier-call, for the young men to
saddle up. At the same time, the familiar
dnmi-beat was again heard. The old men,
the council men, were now left alone to per-
form those ceremonies which were held to
insure good htmting.
The long- stenmied pipe was reverently
lifted from the sacred grotmd which is its
resting-place. The chief medicine-man, old
Buffalo Ghost, took it in his sinewy hands,
with the mouth-piece foremost. He held it
toward heaven, then to the earth, and gave
the ** spirit talk.*' Having ended, he lighted
and passed it arotmd the circle from left to
right. Again one struck the dnmi and sang
in a high minor key. All joined in the re-
frain, and two got up and danced arotmd the
fire. This is done to call the spirits of the
bison, and charm them into a happy de-
parture for the spirit land.
Meantime, the yotmg warriors had moimt-
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R.ed Hunters «k.nd the Animal People
ed their trained buffalo-ponies, and with a
great crowd on foot were moving up the
valley of the Shaeyela. From every di-
vide they surveyed the country ahead, hop-
ing to find the buffalo in great numbers and
to take them unawares. The chief htinter
ascended a hill in advance of the others.
** Woo!'* he called, and waved his right hand
with the assurance of a successful himt.
The warriors prepared for the charge just
as they would prepare for an attack upon
the enemy. All preliminary orders were
given. The men were lined out on three
sides, driving the herd toward the 'river.
When the signal was given, ponies and men
sped forward with loosened hair and flying
lariat. The buffalo were compelled to rtin
toward the river, but some refused to run,
while many more broke through the attack-
ing lines and fled across the Shaeyela and
into the woods. There were some who
stood their grotind and formed an outward-
facing circle aroimd the low little buffalo-
berry-himg grave. To this group many Red
hunters came yelling and singing.
'*Hanta, hanta yo!*' the leader cautioned,
vainly. The first man who ventured near
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The Mustering of the Herds
the menacing circle was instantly tossed upon
the horns of an immense bull. He lay mo-
tionless where he fell.
Now the angry bison were left alone for
the time, while the himters withdrew to a
near-by hill for consultation. The signal of
distress had been given, and soon the ridges
were black with riders. The unforttmate
htmter and his horse lay dead upon the
plain !
*' It is not the custom of the buffalo people
to fight thus. They have been known to
form a ring to defend themselves against
wolves, but against man — ^never!" declared
the game leader. *' It is a sign of which we
ought to discover the meaning."
'* You have heard their lowing," remarked
another. *'It is their habit to mourn thus
when they discover one of their number ly-
ing dead."
Suddenly the buffalo women started away
in single file, the bulls following; and walking
slowly, without molestation from any, they
all disappeared in the direction taken by
the fleeing herd. The hunters now eagerly
advanced to the spot where lay dead the
white bison cow, the queen of the buffalo
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people. The strange action of her follow-
ers was explained . Every warrior approach-
ed the place as if treading upon hallowed
ground. They tied or hobbled their ponies
at some distance, and all came with tobacco
or arrows in their hands. They reverently
addressed the dead cow and placed the to-
bacco gently around her for an offering.
Thus strangely ended the first spring himt
of that year upon the Shaeyela, the ancient
home of the buffalo people, where always
the btiffalo woman chief, the white cow, is
seen — the most sacred and honored animal
among the Sioux!
The grass of the Bad Lands region was
now spread in fresh green, all beaded and
porcupined with the early crocuses. The
yotmg queen was well grown for her age, and
could nm as well as her mother for a mile or
two. Along Willow Creek she had been made
to try her speed many times daily.
** Come,'* she signed to her, one bright May
day, and they both set out for the forks of
the Shaeyela, where once more the buffalo
people were assembled by thousands. Many
of the mothers had already taken their chil-
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dren back to the herd. As Hinpoha passed
the lone btiUs who are wont to wander away
from the rest for tindisturbed feeding, they all
turned to gaze at her and her strange daugh-
ter. Each gave her sonorous greeting, and
some even followed after at a distance in
wonder and admiration.
When they reached a small group of buf-
falo women, there was much commotion.
One of the other mothers came forward to
challenge Hinpoha to a friendly contest,
while the rest formed a ring arotmd them,
evidently admiring the little calf. The
black eyes and hoofs setting off her creamy
whiteness gave her a singularly picttu^esque
appearance.
After the friendly tussle, the mother and
daughter continued on their journey to the
forks of the Shaeyela. As they passed more
and more of their people, the **Moo'' was
given continuously, announcing the coming
of the new queen of the tribe. When they
arrived at the place of meeting, the excite-
ment was great. Everywhere buffalo peo-
ple were running toward them to greet them
with the **Moo!*' The little folks ran up
full of curiosity, turned large eyes and ears
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on the stranger, and then fled away with up-
lifted tail. The big, shaggy-haired old men
came, too, and regarded her gravely. Hin-
poha was proud of her conspicuous position ;
yet it was a trying reception, for every kind
female caller felt obliged to offer her a friend-
ly trial of strength. At such times the lit-
tle calf watched her mother with excited
interest.
The day was warm, the air soft and sum-
mer-like. Whenever there is a great gath-
ering of the bison, there are many contests
and dances. So it was on this occasion. It
was their festival time, and the rumble of
their voices was heard by the other tribes of
the prairie a great way off.
Again the herald's song pealed forth upon
the sunshiny stillness of a May morning.
Every ear was turned to catch the expected
announcement of the wise men.
'*Ye soldier himters,*' was the summons,
**come home to the teyoteepee!" Many of
the warriors, wrapped in their robes, walked
slowly toward the cotmcil-lodge in the mid-
dle of the Indian encampment.
*'Hear ye, men and warriors!*' exclaimed
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The Mustering of the Herds
the chief of the teyoteepee, when all were
met together. ' "Our game scout has re-
turned with the word that upon the forks of
the Shaeyela the buffalo people are holding
their simimer gathering. Furthermore, he
says that he saw a young buffalo chief wom-
an — a white calf! In the morning all the
htmters are commanded to make an attack
upon the herd. If it be possible, we shall
capture the little queen.
**Hear ye, hear ye! We shall dance the
great buff alo - dance to-night! The Great
Mystery is good to us. Few men are so
favored as to see the queen of the buffalo
people even once in a lifetime.
*' Eyuha nahon po !'' he continued, '* heark-
en to the legend that is told by the old men.
The buffalo chief woman is the noblest of all
animals — the most beloved of her people.
Where she is, there is the greatest gathering
of her tribe — there is plenty for the Indian !
They who see her shall be fortunate in hunt-
ing and in war. If she be captured, the peo-
ple who take her need never go hungry.
When the bison is scarce, the exhibition of her
robe in the buffalo-dance will bring back
many to the neighborhood !
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** To-morrow we will make a great htmt.
Be strong of heart, for her people will not
flee, as is their wont, but will fight for her!*'
*'Ho, ho! hi, hi!'' repUed all the warriors.
The buffalo were now holding their simi-
mer feasts and dances upon the Shaeyela
River — the tricky Shaeyela, who, like her
sister, the Big Muddy, tears up her banks
madly every spring freshet, thus changing
her bed contintially. The little hills define
it abruptly, and the tributary creeks are
indicated by a few dwarf pines and cedars,
peeping forth like bears from the gulches.
Upon the horizon the Bad Lands stand out
in bold relief, their ruined pyramids and
columns bespeaking the power of the Great
Mystery.
Here at the forks the poplar-trees and
btiffalo-berry-bushes glistened in fresh foli-
age, and the deep-yellow flowers of the wild
bull-currant exhaled their musky odor. There
was a wide, green plain for the buffalo peo-
ple to summer in, and many had come to
see their baby queen, for the white bison
was always foimd in the midst of the great-
est gathering of her people. No chief buffalo
woman was ever seen with a little band.
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The Mustering of the Herds
The morning was good; the sun wore a
broad smile, and his children upon the
Shaeyela River, both bison and wild Red
men, were happy in their own fashion. The
little fires were sportively burning outside of
each teepee, where the morning meal had
been prepared. It had been decreed by the
council that the warriors should paint, after
the custom of warfare, when they attacked
the buffalo chief woman and her people upon
the forks of the Shaeyela.
Upon the slope of a long ridge the hunters
gathered. Their dusky faces and naked
bodies were extravagantly painted; their
locks fantastically dressed; even the ponies
were decorated. Upon the green plain be-
low the bison were quietlv ^razing, and in
the very centre of the host the little queen
frisked about her mother. It was fully four
arrow-flights distant from the outer edge of
the throng, and sentinel bulls were posted
still farther out, in precaution for her safety.
The Indians overlooking the immense herd
had already pointed out the white calf in
awe-struck whispers. To them she looked
like an earth-visiting spirit in her mysterious
whiteness. There were several thousand
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pairs of horns against their few hundred
warriors, yet they knew that if they should
succeed in capturing this treasiu-e, the story
would be told of them for generations to
come. It was suflficient honor for the risk
of a brave man's life.
*'Hukahay! hukahay!" came the signal.
Down the slope they sped to the attack
with all the spirit and intrepidity of the gray
wolf. *' Woo ! woo !'* came from every throat
in a hoarse shout. The earth under their
ponies' feet fairly trembled.
The buffalo bull sentinels instantly gave
the alarm and started back in the direction of
the main body. A cloud of dust arose toward
the sun as the mighty gathering was set in
motion. Deadly arrows flew like winged
things, and the seating of thousands of hoofs
made a noise like thunder. Yet the buffalo
people would not break the circle arotmd the
white calf, and for many minutes no Red
man could penetrate it.
At last old Zuya, a warrior of note, came
swiftly to the front upon his war-steed. He
held high above his head a blazing torch,
and the panic-stricken bison fled before him
in every direction. Close behind him came
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The Mustering of the Herds
Zuya's yoiing son, Unspeshnee, with a long
lariat coiled in his hand, and the two fol-
lowed hard upon the fleeing buffalo people.
* * Wa • wa - wa - wa !' * came forth from
hundreds of throats, like the rolling of
many stones upon new ice. *' Unspeshnee!
Unspeshnee has lassoed the buffalo chief
woman!"
Amid a great gathering of curious people
stood the white calf, wailing continually, and
a solemn rejoicing pervaded the camp of
the Red hunters. Already the ceremonies
were in progress to celebrate this event.
** It is the will of the Great Mystery," said
they, **to recall the spirit of the white chief.
We shall preserve her robe, the token of
plenty and good-fortune! We shall never
be himgry henceforth for the flesh of her
nation. This robe shall be handed down
from generation to generation, and wherever
it is foimd there shall be abundance of meat
for the Indian."
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The Sky Warrior
THE all-night rain had ceased, and day-
light appeared once more over the east-
em buttes. Hooyah looked about her, anx-
iously scanning the gray dusk of morning for
a glimpse of her mate, the while she spread
her long pinions over three rollicking and
mischievous yotmgsters as any eagle woman
ever brooded. Her piercing gaze was direct-
ed oftenest toward the lone pine — his fa-
vorite sleeping-tree. Surely it was time for
him to call her out on the usual morning
hunt.
The Eagle's Nest butte was well known to
the wild hunters of that region, since it
could be seen from a great distance and by
many approaches. Its overhanging sides
were all but inaccessible, and from the level
summit could be discerned all the land-
marks of the Bad Lands in a circuit of
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Th« Sky Warri9r
seventy-five miles. The course of the Make-
zeta, the Smoking Earth River, lay tinroUed
like a map beneath that eyrie. Hither the
bighorn, the grizzly, and others of the ani-
mal tribes had from time to time betaken
themselves, some seeking a night's refuge
and others a permanent dwelling-place. For
many years, however, it had been well tin-
derstood that this was the chosen home of
Wambelee, the eagle, whom it is not well to
molest.
Doubtless there have been tragedies enact-
ed upon this imposing summit. There is
even a tradition among the wild Red men
that the supremacy upon old Eagle's Nest
has cost many lives, and for this reason it is
held to be a mysterious and hallowed place.
Certainly the tribes of Wild Land had cause
to desire and even to fight for its pos-
session.
Suddenly there came to Hooyah's ears the
whirring sound that announced the near ap-
proach of her master. In the wink of an eye
he was at her side.
** Quick, quick! We must be off ! I have
found a doe with two small fawns. I could
have taken one fawn, but we shall have more
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ICed Hunters a.nd the Anima.! People
meat if you are there to take the other," he
signalled to her.
Hooyah simply stepped aside and stretched
herself thoroughly, as if to say, *'Gk), and I
will follow."
Wambelee arose clumsily at the start, but
as he gained in speed and balance he floated
away in mid-air like a mystic cloud. Hoo-
yah followed within hailing distance, and
they kept the same relative positions tmtil
they reached Fishtail Gulch. It is well
known to the Red hunters that such is the
custom of the bear, coyote, eagle, raven and
gray wolf, except when they travel in bands.
The rule is a good one, since the sought-for
prey is less likely to take alarm when only
one hunter is in sight, and then, in case of
flight, the second piu-suer, who is invisible,
may have a better chance to make the capt-
iu"e, especially should the fleeing one double
on his track. He is certain to be bewildered
and disheartened by the sudden, unexpected
reinforcement of the foe.
Wambelee swtmg up on one of the adjacent
buttes to spy out possible danger, while his
mate was balancing herself away up in the
ether, just over the black-tail mother with
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The Sky Wa.iTior
her twin fawns. Suddenly he arose in a long
spiral and ascended to the height of Hooyah,
and there the two plotted their assault upon
the innocents, at the same time viewing the
secret movements of every other himter.
It is the accepted usage of Wild Land that
no one may wisely leave his tracks uncov-
ered while he himself is on the trail of an-
other, for many have been seized while en-
joying the prize. Even the lordly eagle has
been caught by the wolf, the wild-cat, or by
the wild* man while feasting, and in his glut-
tony has become an easy prey to the least of
htmters. Therefore it behooved Wambelee
to be watchful and very cautious.
*' Ho, Opagela, koowah yay yo-o-o T* This
was the call of Matoska, a famous himter of
the Sioux, at the door of his friend's lodge in
the camp on the Smoking Earth River.
**Come out, friend; it is almost day and my
dream has been good. The game is plenti-
ful; but you will need to be on your guard,
for the tracks of the grizzly hereabout are as
many as I have ever seen the Ojibway
trails.*'
*' Hun, him, hay!" exclaimed the other,
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ICed Hunters SLiidl thm Animal PeopU
good-humoredly, as he pushed aside the tri-
angular door-flap and appeared wrapped in
his blanket. " It is always thus. Wlien the
hunting is poor, you will not be disturbed, but
when you are in a region of much game, all
other hunters are there as well! It is true
that they are usually agreeable except two
only — Mato, the grizzly, and man himself.
These two are always looking for trouble!*'
Opagela was likewise noted for his skill in
htmting, and especially for the number of
eagles that he had caught. This good-
fortune had gained him many ponies, for
eagles* feathers are always in demand. Few
men so well understand the secrets of this
bird. His friend was doubtless expert in
wood-craft, but in this particular he could
not claim to be the equal of Opagela.
**Come, let us hasten! We must be off
before any pther wild hunter can gain the
advantage. We shall appear fooKsh to
them if we are seen running about in full
view," Matoska continued, as he adjusted
the thongs of his moccasins.
Both men soon disappeared in the gray
mists of the morning. They ran noiselessly
side by side, scarcely uttering a word, up
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The Sky Warrior
and along the bluffs of the Smoking Earth
River. They cotild see the white vapor or
breath of the bison hanging in the air at a
distance, and black masses of the animals
were visible here and there upon the plains.
But they did not ttim aside, for they were
in search of other game. The Eagle's Nest
butte loomed up to their right, its bare walls
towering grandly above the surrounding
country, and the big timber lay hidden be-
low in the fog that still clung about the
river.
"Ho!" Opagela exclaimed, presently, to
his companion, in an undertone. ** There is
a htmter from above descending."
Both stood still in their tracks like petri-
fied men. "Whir-r-r!" came Kke the sound
of a coming shower.
/'Ugh, it is he!" Opagela said again, in a
whisper, and made a motion with his lips.
As the great bird, the giant htmter of the
air, swooped down into the gulch, a doe fled
forth from it and ran swiftly over the little
divide. There was bawling and the sound
of struggle just over the banks of the creek,
where the eagle had disappeared.
'*Run, friend, run! Let us see him use
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R.ed Hunters and the Animal People
his knife upon the fawn/' urged Matoska,
and he started over the knoll at a good gait.
The other followed as if reluctantly.
The little gulch was a natural enclosure
formed by a sudden turn of the creek, and
fenced with a thorny thicket of wild pltan
and buffalo-berry bushes. Here they saw
Wambelee in the open, firmly fastened upon
the back of a struggling fawn. Hooyah had
missed her quarry, which took refuge in the
pltim grove.
'* Shoot! shoot!*' whispered Matoska, at
the same time drawing forth an arrow.
**No, no; I recognize friends. This is the
old pair who have dwelt for many years upon
the Eagle's Nest butte." There was a seri-
ous expression upon the htmter's face as he
spoke.
At this moment the eagle turned toward
them. From his neck hung a single bear's
claw, fastened by a leather thong.
*'Yes, it is he. Long ago he saved my
life, and we are friends. I shall tell you
about it," Opagela said at last, and the two
friends sat down side by side at the edge of
the plum-bushes.
''Many winters ago," began Opagela, '*I
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The Sky WsLrrior
was shot through the knee in a battle with
the Utes, a Uttle west of the Black Hills.
My friends carried me with them as far as the
creek which is now called the Wotinded
Knee, and there we were overtaken by a
Crow war-party. Our party had a nmning
fight with them and were compelled to re-
treat in haste. I begged my friends to
leave me on the trail, for I preferred to die
fighting rather than from the effects of my
wound. They did so, but before they reach-
ed me the Crow warriors withdrew.
"There I lay without food or water for
foxir days. I was all skin and bones. My
thoughts were already in the spirit land, and
I seemed to see about me my relatives who
had died.
"One morning my mind was clear, and
once more I realized my surroundings. I
had crawled into the shade of a little grove
of plum-bushes. I gazed out upon the lofty
buttes and the plains between where we had
so often camped in happiness and plenty.
It seemed hard to starve in the midst of such
abimdance.
"A few paces away I saw a doe with two
fawns. They were fat and tempting, but I
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had no strength to shoot. Then I felt that I
was doomed to die, and, indeed, believed that
I was already half spirit and could talk with
spirits. I held out my hand to the Great
Mystery and said:
'*'Is this the end? Then, Great Father, I
am resigned. Let none disturb me, for I
would die in peace.
**At this moment the doe snorted and
sprang directly over me. Alas! one of her
little ones was caught before it could plunge
into the thicket. It was seized by an im-
mense eagle.
''The pretty little creature screamed and
bawled like a baby, and my heart was with
her in her death-pangs, although I was per-
ishing for meat. I lay quite still and breath-
ed softly. I slyly closed my eyes when the
eagle seemed about to look in my direction.
He appeared to be a very warlike, full-grown
bird, with splendid pltimage.
**He dressed his meat a few paces from
me. I could smell the rich odor of the
savory venison, and it made me desperate.
I wanted to live now. But it was his game.
I was a wounded, helpless, d)dng man — he a
strong, warlike hunter. I could only beg a
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The Sky Warrior
piece of his meat, but it was not the time for
me to do so until he had eaten his fill.
**The zest with which he partook of his
meal made me chew while he tore off pieces
of the meat, and swallow whenever he
swallowed a savory morsel. At last I could
not endure it any longer.
"^Ho, kola!' I said, feebly.
'*The sky warrior lifted his noble head
with the mien of a great chief. At first he
did not discover where the voice came from,
but, nevertheless, he made a show of indig-
nation and surprise.
''Again I said, almost in a whisper, *Ho,
kola, it is time you should cheer a dying
warrior's heart.'
** He saw me. ' Hush-h-h!' he sighed, and
released his great talons from the body of
the fawn.
** My mind was clear now, and the sight of
meat seemed to give me strength. I took
my long knife in one hand and my war-club
in the other, and I rose and hopped towards
him. He tried to fly, but could not. This
is his greatest weakness — that when he kiUs
big game he surfeits himself and is sometimes
unable to fly for half a day or longer. As
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the eagle is not a good walker, he cotild not
get away from me. All his dignity disap-
peared. Helpless as a woman, he lay before
me with outstretched wings.
" I had no wish to harm him who had pre-
served my life. I lassoed him with my lariat
and fastened him to a plvim-tree while I ate
of the meat. It was tender and luscious, and
my strength returned to me even as I ate.
*'I could not walk, so Wambele'e and I
camped together, for I did not care to be
alone. Little by little we became friends.
On the second day his wife came in search
of him. When she found him a captive she
scolded violently, perhaps him alone, per-
haps me, or both of us.
** The next time she came prepared to make
war upon me in order to release her husband.
She appeared high up, floating among the
clouds; then suddenly 'gave a scream,woman-
like, and shot down with all the fierceness
of a warrior, coming directly toward me.
**I was getting strong now, and I shook
my bow over my head at her. Then she
swung upward within a few bows* length, so
that I could feel the wind of her attack.
** After she had done this several times,
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The Sky WsLrrior
she perched upon a near-by butte and
watched. She did everything in her power
to make her captive husband's heart strong.
Now and then she would sail slowly over otir
heads, coaxing, scolding, and apparently
having a loving, conjugal talk with him.
**At last I sat beside her mate and gave
him some meat, which he took from my hand.
She saw this feast of two warrior - friends,
and came within a few paces of us. I threw
her a piece of the venison, which she took,
and ate of it.
*' Our meat was now gone, and we moved
nearer to the stream. I awok^ early in the
morning. Wambelee was uneasy, and stared
continually into the gray dusk. I looked in
the same direction, and I saw four black-tail
deer approaching the water to drink. I had
tied one end of Wambelee's lariat to a young
sapling, and let him sit by me, concealed
under the bushes. He had a long lariat.
When the deer were almost upon us, I took
my sharpest arrow and shot the buck deer.
At the same time Wambelee secured a fawn.
Now we were rich, for we had all the meat
we wanted!
** When we first moved our camp, the eagle
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woman did not like it, because she did not
understand. But again she came every day
and got rations for herself and her eaglets
on the nest. It was a day's run for a warrior
from the Eagle's Nest butte to the place
where we were upon the Wounded Knee.
**I was now strong and able to walk a
short distance. Wambelee and Hooyah had
become my good friends. They feared me
no longer. One day I said to him :
"'My friend, you have saved my life. I
am strong again, and I shall return to my
people. You also must go back to your
children. I have three in my lodge, and you
should have as many. See, I will give you
a necklace — a brave's necklace — ^before you
go.'
'*I took one claw from my necklace of
bears' claws, and tied it about his neck with
a leather thong. I also cut a little figure of
a man out of a deer's hoof, and tied it to the
eagle woman's neck.
** * You have been a faithful and brave wife
to my friend Wambelee,' I said to her. * You
shall have this for a token from his friend.'
*' Then I released Wambelee. He stepped
aside, but showed no sign of going. The
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The Sky W«Lrrior
eagle woman simply busied herself with
cutting out a piece of venison to take to her
hungry children.
"*I see that you are true friends. I will
take two feathers from each of you/ I said.
** I took two feathers from each and stuck
them in my head. The eagle woman rose
with the meat, but Wambelee still stood by
me. I said, * Go, friend, it is time,' and re-
luctantly he rose and followed her.
**When they had left me it was lonely,
and I could not stay. I took my lariat and
my weapons and walked slowly up the creek,
which was then called Blacktail Creek.
From that day it has been known as the
Wounded Knee.
''Before sunset, Wambelee came back to
see where I was. I was compelled to travel
very slowly, and they watched and followed
me from day to day until I reached home.
There I was as one returned from the dead.
" Nor is this all. In my joumeyings these
two have many times come near me. I have
a signal-call for them, and they have one for
me. They have been my guide to game,
and I have shared my game with them.*'
Opagela thus ended his story. Matoska
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had listened with an attentive ear and a
respect that bordered upon reverence.
**It is well, friend," he said, finally, with
marked significance.
The two old eagles had busied themselves
meanwhile with their game, eating a part
and preparing part to take to their chil-
dren. They now showed signs of age. Their
coats were of a brownish color, and their
tail-feathers creamy white.
Opagela filled his pipe and held it toward
them in token of his good wishes. Then he
offered it to his companion.
** We shall smoke," he said, **to their long
life and success in hunting." Matoska si-
lently nodded assent.
"And how is it, friend, that you kill so
many eagles?" he asked, at last.
**I have never killed one," said Opagela.
** I have caught many, but without harm to
them. I take several of the tail-feathers and
let them go. Because I have always many
eagl^ feathers, the warriors think that I kill
them.
"Sinkpay both captures and kills them,"
he continued. **He makes a fish out of a
water-soaked log. He whittles ""it to the
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The Sky W«Lrrior
shape of a fish, puts a weight on it, and ties
it to a long rope which he holds from the
shore of a certain lake. You know the eagle
is a good fisherman, and when he sees from
a great height the make-believe fish of Sink-
pay, he drops down very swiftly and buries
his claws deeply in the spongy wood. Then
Sinkpay pulls this wooden fish to shpre with
the eagle clinging to it, because he can-
not pull out his long, crooked talons. Al-
ways his greed is his destruction," concluded
the hunter.
**And how do you catch yours?" quoth
Matoska.
*' Upon a hill frequented by eagles, I dig
a hole and lie in it, covered with brush, and
holding up a freshly killed rabbit. The eagle
sees the rabbit a great way off, and he will
immediately shoot down and seize it. I
catch him by the leg and pull him down into
the hole. There I tie his feet and pull out
several of his tail-feathers.
** You will never catch an eagle twice with
the same trick. My old friends know all
about it, and delight to play with me by
tearing the skin of the bait while hovering
out of reach."
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R.ed Hunters «Lnd the Animal People
'* And how do you recognize those two old
eagles?" again asked Matoska.
"I know them as well as you know one
man from another. You cannot doubt me,
for you see their necklaces.
** I have kept this matter sacred and secret
for many years. It is not well to talk of the
favors of the Great Mystery. But you have
seen my friend the sky warrior and his wife,
therefore I told it to you. You will not
speak of it ?" the old hunter asked his friend,
who nodded gravely. The two old eagles,
laden with their prey, flew heavily away in
the direction of the Eagle's Nest.
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A Founder of Ten Towns
UPON a grassy plateau, overlooking the
flats of the Owl River, was spread out
Pezpeza's town. The borders of the table-
land were defined by the river's bed, and it
was stifficiently high for the little inhabi-
tants to command the valley both up and
down for a considerable distance. Shtmgela
Pahah, or Fox Ridge, stretched upward on
the horizon, and the rough country back of it
formed many ravines and gulches for the sol-
itary habitations of wolves and foxes.
No prettier site could be imagined for a
town of the prairie-dog people, among whom
there is no more enterprising frontiersman
than Pezpeza. Although it was situated in
plain view of one of the large summer camps
of the wild Sioux, the little people had been
left unmolested. The wild men lived then
in the midst of the greatest game region of
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R.ed Hunters «Lfid the AnimeLl People
the Dakotas, and, besides, they had always
looked upon the little mound-builders as
having once been real people like them-
selves.
All over the plateau, which was semicir-
cular in form, were scattered hundreds of
mounds, and on that particular morning,
when the early Sioux hunter rode by upon
his favorite pony, every house was alive
with the inhabitants. Upon the mounds of
the old deserted houses stood the faithful
and good neighbor, Pezpeza ta ayanpahalah,
Pezpeza's herald, the owl ; for if any house is
left vacant, he immediately occupies it.
Here and there, upon a sim-baked mound,
lay coiled the other neighbor, Sintayhadah,
the rattlesnake.
The herald had annoimced the coming of
the wild Red man upon his hunting pony;
therefore every prairie-dog had repaired to
the top of the moimd beside his dwelling.
Some stood upon their hind-legs, that they
might better see for themselves the approach-
ing danger, and from this place of safety they
all shrilly scolded the intruders; while the
little herald, who had done his duty and once
more fulfilled his tinspoken contract with
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A Founder of Ten Towns
his hosts to be their scout and crier, perched
cahnly upon a chosen mound and made his
observations.
In the middle of the town, upon a large
motmd, there stood an imusually large dog.
When the warning was given, he had slowly
dragged himself outside. His short, thick
fur was much yellower than that of the
others, a sign of advancing age; and while
the citizens were noisy in their protests, he
alone was silent. It was Pezpeza, the fotuid-
er of this town and of many another, the
experienced traveller. His old friend, the
faithful herald, who had just given warning,
perched not far away. These two had jour-
neyed together and shared each other's hard-
ships, but Pezpeza was the prime mover in
it all, and there was none wiser than he
among his people.
Pezpeza's biographer and interpreter tells
thus of his wonderful frontier life and ad-
ventures.
Pezpeza was one of many children of an
old couple who lived upon the Missouri River
bottoms. He had learned while yet small
that the little prairie-owl was their very
good neighbor and friend. He had repaired
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R.ed Hunters and the AnimsLl People
and cx^cupied one of their abandoned houses.
It was generally understood by the little
mound-builders that this quiet, unassuming
bird notifies them of approaching danger;
and, having no bad habits, the prairie-dogs
had tacitly accepted them as desirable and
useful townsfolk. The owl, for his part, finds
a more convenient home and better food in
the towns than he could possibly find else-
where, for there are plants peculiar to the
situation which attract certain insects, mice,
and birds, and these in turn furnish food for
the owls.
Their common neighbor, the rattlesnake,
lay at times under a strong suspicion of
treachery, and was not liked any too well by
the other two. However, the canny and
cold-hearted snake had proved his useftil-
ness beyond any doubt, and was accepted
tmder strict and well-understood conditions.
He was hke the negro in the South — he was
permitted to dwell in the same town, but he
must not associate with the other two upon
equal terms. It is clear that the dog and
the owl together could whip and terrorize
the snake and force him to leave the prem-
ises at any time if they felt so disposed, but
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A Founder of Ten Towne
there is a sufficient reason for allowing him
to remain. The wolf, coyote, fox, swift, and
badger, all enemies of the little motmd-
builders, will not linger long in the neigh-
borhood of rattlesnakes, and this is equally
true of the Red hunter. The coyote and
badger could easily lie flat behind the mound
and spring upon the prairie-dog when he
comes out of his hole. The Sioux boy could
do the same with his horse-hair noose. But
these wild htmters, with full knowledge of
the deadly rattlesnake, dare not expose
themselves in such a fashion. The snake,
on his side, gets his food much easier there
than anywhere else, since all kinds of small
birds come there for seeds. Further, his
greatest enemies are certain large birds which
do not fear his poison, but swoop down,
seize him, and eat him in mid-air. From
this danger he is safer in a dog-town than
elsewhere, owing to the multitude of holes,
which are ingeniously dug upward and off at
one side from the main burrow, and are much
better than the snake can jn-ovide for him-
self.
Pezpeza was like all the young people of
his tribe. He loved play, but never played
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Red Hunters and the Animal People
with the snake young people — on the con-
trary, he would stand at a safe distance and
upbraid them until they retired from his
premises. It was not so with the children
of the little herald, the owl. In fact, he had
played with them ever since he could re-
member, and the attachment between them
became permanent. Wherever Pezpeza goes,
the httle owl always comes and sits near-by
upon some convenient mound. If any hawk
is in sight, and if he should see it first, he
would at once give the warning and Pezpeza
would run for his house.
Every day some prairie-dog left the town
in quest of a new home. The chief reason
for this is over-population — ^hence, scarcity
of food; for the ground does not jdeld a
sufficient quantity for so many.
One morning, as he was coming out of
their house, Pezpeza fo\md his father lying
dead within the entrance. At first he would
not go by, but at last he left the house, as
did the rest of the family. None returned
to their old home. The mother and children
built a new house on the edge of the town,
dangerously near a creek, and the old home-
stead was after that owned by a large rattle-
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A Founder of Ten Towns
snake family who had always loafed about
the place. The new home was a good one,
and the new ground yielded an abundant
crop, but they were harassed by the wolves
and wild-cats, because they were near the
creek and within easy approach.
Pezpeza was out feeding one morning with
a brother when all at once the owl gave the
warning. They both ran for the house, and
Pezpeza got in safe, but his brother was car-
ried off by a wolf.
When he came out again, the place was
not like what it used to be to him. He had
a desire to go somewhere else, and off he
started without telling any one. He follow-
ed an old buffalo-trail Which lay over the
plain and up the Owl River.
The river wound about among the hills
and between deeply cut banks, forming wide
bottom-lands, well timbered with cotton-
woods. It was a warm day of blue haze
in the early spring, and Pezpeza ran along
in excellent spirits. Suddenly a warning
screech came from behind, and he lay flat,
immovable, upon the path. Ah, it is his
friend the young herald, the owl playmate!
The owl had seen his young friend run away
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R.ed Hunters ^nd the AnimeLl People
over the prairie, so he flew to join him, giv-
ing no thought to his people or his own
affairs.
The herald flew ahead and perched upon
a convenient mound until his friend came
up; then he went ahead again. Thus the
two travelled over the plain tmtil they came
to a point where many buffalo skulls lay
scattered over the grotmd. Here, some
years before, the Red men had annihilated a
herd of buffalo in a great hunt.
As usual, the herald flew ahead and took up
his position upon a buffalo skull which lay
nose downward. The skull was now bleach-
ed white, but the black horns were still at-
tached to it. The herald sat between these
horns.
Meanwhile Pezpeza was coming along the
buffalo-path at a fairly good speed. Again
he heard the danger-call and ran for the
nearest skull to hide. He was glad to find
that the thin bones of the nose were gone, so
that he could easily enter it. He was not
any too quick in finding a refuge, for a large
eagle swooped down with a rush and sat by
the skull. Pezpeza had crouched in the
inner cavity, and when he was discovered
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A Founder of Ten Towns
he made a great show of indignation and
fight. But the eagle, having made a careful
study of the position of his intended victim,
finally flew away, and in due time Pezpeza
proceeded on his journey.
He did not go far, but when he had found
a level, grassy plateau, commanding all the
approaches, he began without delay to dig a
home for himself, for he is not safe a moment
without a home. The herald sat a little way
off upon a stray bowlder, and occasionally he
would fly out for a short distance and then
return.
The sun hovered over Fox Ridge, and long
columns of shadow were cast by the hills.
Pezpeza, weary with his journey and the
work of digging a home at least deep enough
for a night's occupancy, had laid himself
away in it to sleep. The herald, as usual,
constituted himself a night-watch, and perch-
ed upon the newly made mo\md. There he
sat with his head sunk deep in his soft feath-
ers.
No sooner had the sun set in the west than
the full moon appeared in the east, but the
owl still sat motionless. He did not move
even when a gray wolf came trotting along
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R.ed Hunters OLiid the AnimeLl People
the btiflEalo-trail. When he came opposite
the motind he stopped and held his muzzle
low. At last he cautiously advanced, and
when he was dangerously near the owl
flew away and the wolf rushed upon the
moimd, and stood for a while peering into
the hole.
It was now the herald's turn to annoy. It
is true he cannot do anything more than
bluff, but he is skilled in that. Especially
at night, his gleam- ng eyes and the snapping
of his bill, together with his pretentious
swoop, make even the gray wolf nervous, and
it was not long before he had decided to go
farther.
The next morning the enterprising town-
builder earnestly went about completing his
home, although one cotdd see only the little
mound and the cup-shaped entrance — all else
was deep tmderground. Every day there
were arrivals, singly or in couples, and now
and then a whole family. Nearly all brought
their heralds with them, and these, likewise,
came singly or in pairs. Immediately, each
couple would go to work to prepare a dwell-
ing for themselves, for they are not safe with-
out them, and, besides, they seem to believe
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A Founder of Ten Town*
in independent homes. Thus in one moon
the town became a respectably large one.
Shunkmanitoo, the wolf, had many a time
trotted over the plateau and seen either a
lone buffalo bull grazing or lying down chew-
ing his cud, or an antelope standing cautious-
ly in the middle that he might better see the
approach of any danger. Now, after a few
days' absence, he fotmd a flourishing village,
and one by no means devoid of interest and
attraction.
Every bright day the Httle people played
"catch-the-laugh." It is so called by the
Red people. When all were outside their
houses, one would jump into the air and
make a peculiar soimd, half squeak and half
growl. The nearest one would take it up,
and so on throughout the village. All would
rise on their hind-feet and bob up and down,
at the same time giving the peculiar cry.
This performance they repeat whenever they
are happy.
Pezpeza's town was now quite populous.
But he was not the mayor; he did not get
any credit for the founding of the town; at
least as far as the Red people could observe.
Their life and government seemed to be
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ICed Hunter* a.f\d the Aniina.1 People
highly democratic. Usually the concentra-
tion of population produced a certain weed
which provided abundance of food for them.
But imder some conditions it will not grow ;
and in that case, as soon as the native buffalo-
grass is eaten up the town is threatened with
a famine, and the inhabitants are compelled
to seek food at a distance from their houses.
This is quite opposed to the habit and safety
of the helpless little people. Finally the only
alternative will be the desertion of the
town.
Thus it happened that Pezpeza, when the
buffalo-grass was all gone about his place,
began to realize the necessity of finding a
new home. The ground was not adapted
to the crop that generally grew in a prairie-
dog town. One morning he was compelled
to go beyond the limits of the village to get
his breakfast, and all at once the thought of
going off in search of a good town-site seized
him strongly. He consulted no one, not
even his best friend, the owl. He simply ran
away up the river.
The buffalo-trails were many and well
beaten. He followed one of them — he knew
not whither. The herald soon discovered
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A Founder of Ten Towns
his departure and again followed his friend.
Pezpeza was glad to see him fly past and take
the lead, as usual.
The trail now led them to the brow of the
table -land. Below them, along the river-
bottoms, great herds of buffalo grazed among
the shady cottonwood groves, and the path
led down the slope. It was safer for the
little town-maker to get among the big,
burly bison, for the wolf does not go among
them at such times. It is usually just be-
yond the herd that he peeps from behind the
hills, watching for a chance to attack an iso-
lated cow.
The buffalo did not pay any attention to
the little fellow running on the trail and al-
most under their feet. They even allowed
the herald to perch upon an old bull's back
in order to keep within sight of his friend.
Through the great herd the two proceeded.
It was hot, and the grass was all eaten off
close to the ground. There was no food for
the Uttle traveller.
He had descried a fair plateau on the oppo-
site side of the Owl River as he came down
. the hill, and his mind was fixed upon this
land. He was heading for the river, but
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ICed Hunter* a.nd the Animal People
found himself much hampered by the in-
creasing number of the buffalo.
At the edge of the bank which marked the
old bed of the stream Pezpeza came to a
stand-still. Here the trail entered the woods
and the bison followed it in single file. As
they skirted the bank they passed so near
him that their broad backs were almost
within his reach, and some of them stopped
for a moment to rub themselves against its
steep sides. Finally there came an old bull
with horns worn almost to the skull. He
stopped just below Pezpeza and dug his
stumpy horn into the earth wall, and Pez-
peza sprang gently upon his back and flat-
tened himself out as thin as he could.
The bull did not suspect that anything un-
usual had happened. He supposed that
what he felt was merely a lump of dirt that he
had loosened with his horns, and off he walk-
ed quite unconcernedly on the trail towards
the river. Many of his people were already
crossing, and he followed them. The herald
was perched upon the back of another bull,
and so the pair crossed the Owl River.
There was a broad meadow-land through
which the trail led up on the other side until
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A Founder of Ten Towns
it lost itself in a sage-bush plain. Here the
bison scattered to graze, and many followed
the ravines for better grass. Pezpeza let
himself slide from the bull's back, who gave
a jump and a snort, but it was too late to
enter a protest.
The little town-builder now began his work
as faithfully as before, and soon foim.ded an-
other large town. But again the misfortunes
of life compelled him and his friend to leave
the place. Thus they travelled up the river,
now upon one side and now the other, and
never more than a day's journey. More than
once Pezpeza found a mate, and he raised
many a family; but, like a true pioneer, he
could never remain long in an old and over-
crowded town.
His tenth and last home was the beautiful
table-land at the junction of Owl River with
Lost Creek. As has been described in the
beginning, it was a semicircular plain of
large extent and commanded a striking view.
At the very head of the embankment, which
sloped abruptly down to the river level, there
stood a number of large grassy mounds, and
among them were several peculiar structures
composed of poles placed upright in the
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ICed Hunter* and the Anima.! People
grotind with others arranged horizontally
so as to form a sort of shelter.
The town-maker gave no serious thought
to these things. The grass upon the plateau
was excellent, and he set to work at once,
selecting a site for his home near the centre
of the plain, for greater safety. Every day
new-comers came, and it was a source of sat-
isfaction to him that his selection was such
as every prairie-dog could not but approve.
In a few days the town was fairly started.
There arrived one day a family who took
up their claim close by Pezpeza's place. In
this family there was a pretty maid, according
to Pezpeza's notion and fancy. There was
no reason why he should not think so, for he
was now a widower, a wolf having carried
off his faithful mate of several years* stand-
ing. It was soon noticed by the other little
people that the pretty maid with garments
the color of the buffalo-grass in autumn had
gone to live with Pezpeza.
Pezpeza's town was now a place of respect-
able size, well known in all that region. The
coyote and gray wolf knew it well; the
Red man also, for, as I said in the beginning,
their favorite summer camp was not far
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A Founder of Ton Towno
away, and there they were wont to dance
the **s\in dance'' at every midsummer.
At times the Red men were seen to come
and roam, singing, arotmd the large mounds
and the curious scaffolds, and before they
went away they would place one of their
number upon a new scaffold or heap anoth-
er moimd. Still the little people gave no
thought to these strange actions.
Many, many of their tribe came from all
directions, imtil Pezpeza's town might al-
most be called a city. Many children were
bom there. The plateau was alive with the
little mound-builders, who constantly built
their homes farther and farther out, till at
last some had built right under the Red men's
scaffolds and hard by the large mounds,
which were the graves of their dead.
Pezpeza's groimd did not yield its usual
crop any more. His children were all grown
and had homes of their own. For some rea-
son he did not care to go far away, so the old
folks simply moved out to the edge of the
town
Pezpeza was now old and very large and
fat. Never had he known for so long a time
a happy home as in the town upon the ** scaf-
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ICed Hunters a.nd the Anima.! People
fold plain," as the place was called by the
Red people. When they came to visit the
graves of their dead they had never troubled
the little mound-builders, therefore the old
founder of many towns did not think of
danger when he built very near to one of the
scaffolds, and there were others who did the
same.
On a bright autumn morning, early risers
among the little people saw one of the Red
men standing under a newly built scaffold
and wailing loudly. He was naked and
painted black. Many of the yoimg people
of the town barked at him as he stood there
in their midst, and some of the yoimg her-
alds, disturbed by the noise of his wailing,
flew about and alighted upon the scaffolds.
When he ceased mourning, he turned about
and talked long at the little people and then
went away.
The angry mourner reported at the great
camp that the prairie-dogs and their owls
were desecrating the graves, and it was time
that they should be driven away. A council
was held, and the next day the Red men
came with their dogs and killed many. Their
arrows pinned many of them to the ground
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A Founder of Ten Town*
before they could dodge into their holes.
Then they scattered all over the town and
remained there, so that none dared to come
out. The owls were shot or driven away,
and the Red men killed every rattlesnake
that they found. It was an awful time!
During the night many of the little people
went away, deserting their homes.
The next day the same thing happened
again, and the Red men even stopped up the
entrances to many of the houses with rotmd
stones. Again in the night many of the
little mound-builders left the town.
On the third day they came and set fire
to the plain. After that, in the night, all the
remaining population abandoned the town,
except only Pezpeza. All this time the
foimder of the ten towns had remained in-
doors. He was old and reluctant to move.
At last he emerged with his mate. An awful
sight met their eyes. On the blackened
plain not one of the great population could
be seen. Not one of their many children
and grandchildren was there to greet them
or to play at **catch-the-laugh'M
As soon as they dared the two old people
sought food tmder the scaffolds, where the
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R.ed Hunters and the Animal People
grass was not burned. Two Red men arose
from behind a grave and let their arrows fly.
Alas ! the aged leader of the mound-builders
was pinned to the groimd. His mate barely
escaped a similar fate, for the other missed.
The herald saw everything that had hap-
pened. He cook up his watch from the cen-
tre of the ruined town. The stm went down,
moonlight flooded the prairie, and he heard
the evening call of the coyotes upon Fox
Ridge. At last he saw something moving —
it was the widowed mate of his friend, nm-
ning along the trail from the desolate town.
He gave one last look about him, then he
silently rose and followed her.
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The Gray Chieftain
ON the westernmost verge of Cedar
Butte stood Haykinshkah and his
mate. They looked steadily toward the
setting sun, over a landscape which up to
that time had scarcely been viewed by man
— the inner circle of the Bad Lands.
Cedar Butte guards the southernmost en-
trance to that wonderland, standing fully
a thousand feet above the surroimding
country, and nearly half a mile long by a
qxiarter of a mile wide. The stimmit is a
level, grassy plain, its edges heavily fringed
with venerable cedars. To attempt the
ascent of this butte is like trying to scale the
walls of Babylon, for its sides are high and
all but inaccessible. Near the top there are
hanging lands or terraces and innumerable
precipitous points, with here and there deep
chimneys or abysses in the solid rock. There
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Red Hunter* and the Animal People
are many hidden recesses and more than one
secret entrance to this ancient castle of the
gray chieftain and his ancestors, but to assail
it successfully requires more than common
skill and spirit.
Many a coyote had gone up as high as the
second leaping-bridge and there abandoned
the attempt. Old grizzly had once or twice
begun the ascent with doubt and misgiving,
but soon discovered his mistake, and made
clumsy haste to descend before he should
tumble into an abyss from which no one ever
returns. Only Igmutanka, the mountain-
lion, had achieved the summit, and at every
ascent he had been well repaid ; yet even he
seldom chose to risk such a climb, when there
were many fine hunting - grotmds in safer
neighborhoods.
So it was that Cedar Butte had been the
peaceful home of the big spoonhoms for un-
told ages. To be sure, some of the younger
and more adventurous members of the clan
would depart from time to time to found a
new family, but the wiser and more con-
servative were content to remain in their
stronghold. There stood the two patri-
archs, looking down complacently upon the
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The GroLV ChieftOLin
herds of buffalo, antelope, and elk that peo-
pled the lower plains. While the sun hov-
ered over the western hills, a coyote upon a
near-by eminence gave his accustomed call
to his mate. This served as a signal to all
the wild htmters of the plains to set up their
inharmonious evening serenade, to which
the herbivorous kindred paid but little at-
tention. The phlegmatic spoonhom pair lis-
tened to it all with a fine air of indifference,
like that of one who sits upon his own bal-
cony, superior to the passing noises of the
street.
It was a charming moonlight night upon
the cedar-fringed plain, and there the old
chief presently joined the others in feast and
play. His mate sought out a secret resting-
place. She followed the next gulch, which
was a perfect labyrinth of caves and pockets,
and after leaping two chasms she reached
her favorite spot. Here the gulch made a
square turn, affording a fine view of the coun-
try through a window-like opening. Above
and below this were perpendicular walls,
and at the bottom a small cavity, left by the
root of a pine which had long since fallen
and crumbled into dust. To this led a nar-
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Red Hunter* a.nd the Aniina.1 People
row terrace — so narrow that man or beast
would stop and hesitate long before ventur-
ing upon it. The place was her own by right
of daring and discovery, and the mother's
instinct had brought her here to-night, for
the pangs of deadly sickness were upon her.
In a little while relief came, and the ewe
stood over a new-bom lamb, licking tenderly
the damp, silky hair, and trimming the little
hoofs of their cartilaginous points. The
world was quiet now, and those whose busi-
ness it is to hunt or feed at night must do
so in silence, for such is the law of the plains.
The wearied mother slept in peace.
The sun was well above the butte when she
awoke, although it was cool and shadowy
still in her concealed abode. She gave suck
to the lamb and caressed it for some time
before she reluctantly prepared its cradle,
according to the custom of her people. She
made a little pocket in the side of the cave
and gently put her baby in. Then she cov-
ered him all up, save the nose and eyes, with
dry soil. She put her nose to his little sen-
sitive ear and breathed into it warm love and
caution, and he felt and understood that he
must keep his eyes closed and breathe gently,
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The Gra.y Chiefta.if\
lest bear or wolf or man should spy him out
when they had found her trail. Again she
put her warm, loving nose to his eyes, then
patted a little more earth on his body and
smoothed it off. The tachinchana closed his
eyes in obedience, and she left him for the
plain above in search of food and sunlight.
At a little before dawn, two wild hunters
left their camp and set out for Cedar Butte
Their movements were marked by unusual
care and secrecy. Presently they hid their
ponies in a deep ravine and groped their
way up through the difficult Bad Lands,
now and then pausing to listen. The two
were close friends and rival hunters of their
tribe.
**I think, friend, you have mistaken the
haunts of the spoonhom,'' remarked Wacoo-
tay, as the pair came out upon one of the
lower terraces. He said this rather to test
his friend, for it was their habit thus to criti-
cise and question each other's judgment, in
order to extract from each other fresh ob-
servations. What the one did not know
about the habits of the animals they hunted
in common the other could usually supply.
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Red Hunters and the Animal People
"This is his home — I know it," replied
Grayfoot. **And in this thing the animals
are much like otirselves. They will not leave
an old haunt imless forced to do so either by
lack of food or overwhelming danger/'
They had already passed on to the next ter-
race and leaped a deep chasm to gain the op-
posite side of the butte, when Grayfoot sud
denly whispered, ** In ahjin!*' (Stop!). Both
men listened attentively. ** Tap, tap, tap,"
an almost metallic sotmd came to them
from around the perpendicular wall of rock.
*' He is chipping his horns!" exclaimed the
hunter, overjoyed to surprise the chieftain
at this his secret occupation. ** Poor beast,
they are now too long for him, so that he
cannot reach the short grass to feed. Some
of them die starving, when they have not
the strength to do the hard bucking against
the rock to shorten their horns. He chooses
this time, when he thinks no one will hear
him, and he even leaves his own clan when it
is necessary for him to do this. Come, let us
crawl up on him unawares."
They proceeded cautiously and with cat-
like steps around the next projection, and
stood upon a narrow strip of slanting terrace.
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The Grsty Chiefto^ifi
At short intervals the pounding noise con-
tinued, but strain their eyes as they might
they could see nothing. Yet they knew
that a few paces from them, in the darkness,
the old ram was painfully driving his horns
against the solid rock. Finally they lay
flat upon the grotmd \mder a dead cedar, the
color of whose trunk and that of the scanty
soil somewhat resembled their clothing, and
on their heads they had stuck some bunches
of sage-bush, to conceal them from the eyes
of the spoonhom.
With the first gray of the approaching
dawn the two hunters looked eagerly about
them. There stood, in all his majesty, height-
ened by the wild grandeur of his surroundings,
the gray chieftain of the Cedar Butte! He
had no thought of being observed at that
hour. Entirely tmsuspicious of danger, he
stood alone upon a pedestal-like terrace,
from which vantage-point it was his wont to
survey the surrounding coimtry every morn-
ing. If the secret must be told, he had done
so for years, ever since he became the head
chief of the Cedar Butte clan.
It is the custom of their tribe that when a
ram attains the age of five years he is en-
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Red Hunters o^nd the Animo^l People
titled to a clan of his own, and thereafter
must defend his right and supremacy against
all comers. His experience and knowledge
are the guide of his clan. In view of all this,
the gray chieftain had been very thorough
in his observations. There was not an ob-
ject anywhere near the shape of bear, wolf,
or man for miles around his kingdom that
was not noted, as well as the relative posi-
tions of rocks and conspicuous trees.
The best time for Haykinshkah to make
his daily observations is at sunrise and sim-
set, when the air is usually clear and objects
appear distinct. Between these times the
clan feed and settle down to chew their cud
and sleep, yet some are always on the alert
to catch a passing stranger within their field
of observation. But the old chief spoon-
horn pays very little attention. His duty is
done. He may be nestled in a gulch just
big enough to hold him, either sound asleep
or leisurely chewing his cud. The younger
members of the clan take their position upon
the upper terraces and imder the shade of
projecting rocks, after a whole night's feast-
ing and play upon the plain.
As spoonhom stood motionless, looking
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The Gray ChieftOLin
away off toward the distant hills, the plain
below appeared from this elevated point very
smooth and sheetlike, and every moving
object a mere speck. His form and color
were not very different from the dirty gray
rocks and clay of the butte.
Wacootay broke the silence. ** I know of
no animal that stands so long without move-
ment, unless it is the turtle. I think he is
the largest ram I have ever seen."
** I am sure he did not chip where he stands
now,*' remarked Grayfoot. "This chipping-
place is a monastery to the priests of the
spoonhom tribe. It is their medicine-lodge.
I have more than once approached the spot,
but could never find the secret entrance."
** Shall I shoot him now?" whispered his
partner in the chase.
**No, do not do it. He is a real chief.
He looks mysterious and noble. Let us
know him better. Besides, if we kill him
now we shall never see him again. Look!
he will fall to that deep gulch ten trees*
length below, where no one can get at him."
As Grayfoot spoke the animal shifted his
position, facing them squarely. The two
men closed their eyes and wrinkled their
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R.ed Hunters and the Animal People
motionless faces into the semblance of two
lifeless mtmmiies. The old sage of the
mountains was apparently deceived, but
after a few moments he got down from his
lofty position and disappeared around a
point of rock.
'* I never care to shoot an animal while he
is giving me a chance to know his ways/'
explained Grayfoot. **We have plenty of
buffalo meat. We are not htingry. All we
want is spoons. We can get one or two
sheep by-and-by, if we have more wit than
they."
To this speech Wacootay agreed, for his
curiosity was now fully aroused by Gray-
foot's view, although he had never thought
of it in just that way before. It had always
been the desire for meat which had chiefly
moved him in the matter of the hunt.
Having readjusted their sage wigs, the
hunters made the circuit of the abyss that
divided them from the ram, and as they
looked for his trail they noticed the tracks
of a large ewe leading down toward the in-
accessible gulches.
**Ah, she has some secret down there!
She never leaves her clan like this unless it
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The GroLV Chieftain
is to steal away on a personal affair of her
own.**
So saying, Grayf oot with his fellow tracked
the ewe's footprint along the verge of a deep
gulf with much trouble and patience. The
hunter's curiosity and a strong desire to
know her secret impelled the former to lead
the way.
**What will be our profit, if one slips and
goes down into the gulch, never to be seen
again?'* remarked Wacootay, as they ap-
proached a leaping-place. The chasm be-
low was of a great depth and dark. " It is
not wise for us to follow farther; this ewe has
no horns that can be made into spoons."
**Come, friend; it is when one is doubting
that mishaps are apt to occur," urged his
companion.
"Koda, heyu yo!** exclaimed Wacootay,
the next moment, in distress.
"Hehehe, koda! Hold fast!" cried the
other.
Wacootay' s moccasined foot had slipped
on the narrow trail, and in the twinkling of
an eye he had almost gone down a precipice of
a hundred feet ; but with a desperate launch
forward he caught the bough of an over-
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R.ed Hunters and the AnimoLl People
hanging cedar and swung by his hands over
the abyss.
Quickly Grayfcx)t pulled both their bows
from the quivers. He first tied himself to
the trunk of the cedar with his packing-
strap, which always hung from his belt.
Then he held both the bows toward his
friend, who, not without difficulty, changed
his hold from the cedar bough to the bows.
After a short but determined effort, the two
men stood side by side once more upon the
narrow foothold of the terrace. Without a
word they followed the ewe's track to the
cave.
Here she had lain last night. Both men
began to search for other marks, but they
found not so much as a sign of scratching
anywhere. They examined the grotmd close-
ly without any success. All at once a faint
** Ba-a-a !*' came from almost under their feet.
They saw a puff of smokelike dust as the
little creature called for its mother. It had
felt the footsteps of the hunters and mistaken
them for those of its own folk.
Wacootay hastily dug into the place with
his hands and found the soil loose. Soon
he tincovered a little lamb. ** Ba-a-a!** it
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The Gr«Ly Chiefto^in
cried again, and quick as a flash the ewe ap-
peared, stamping the ground in wrath.
Wacootay seized an arrow and fitted it to
the string, but his companion checked him.
'* No, no, my friend! It is not the skin or
meat that we are looking for. We want horn
for ladles and spoons. The mother is right.
We must let her babe alone.'*
The wild hunters silently retreated, and
the ewe ran swiftly to the spot and took her
lamb away.
*'So it is,'* said Grayfoot, after a long si-
lence, **all the tribes of earth have some
common feeling. I believe they are people
as much as we are. The Great Mystery has
made them what they are. Although they
do not speak our tongue, we often seem to
understand their thought. It is not right
to take the life of any of them unless necessity
compels us to do so.
"You know," he continued, ** the ewe con-
ceals her lamb in this way until she has
trained it to escape from its enemies by leap-
ing up or down from terrace to terrace. I
have seen her teaching the yearlings and
two-year-olds to dive down the face of a
cliff which was fully twice the height of a
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Red Hunters e^nd the AnimeLl People
man. They strike on the head and the two
fore-feet. The ram falls largely upon his
horns, which are curved in such a way as to
protect them from injury. The body re-
bounds slightly, and they get upon their feet
as easily as if they had struck a pillow. At
first the yearlings hesitate and almost lose
their balance, but the mother makes them
repeat the performance until they have ac-
complished it to her satisfaction.
"They are trained to leap chasms on all-
fours, and finally the upward jump, which is
a more difficult feat. If the height is not
great they can clear it neatly, but if it is too
high for that they will catch the rocky ledge
with their fore-feet and pull themselves up
like a man.
'*In assisting their young to gain upper
terraces they show much ingenuity. I once
saw them make a ladder of their bodies.
The biggest ram stood braced against the
steep wall as high as his body could reach,
head placed between his fore-feet, while the
next biggest one rode his hind parts, and
so on until the little ones could walk upon
their broad backs to the top. We know that
all animals make their young practise such
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The GroLV ChieftOLin
feats as are necessary to their safety and
advantage, and thus it is that these people
are so well fitted to their peculiar mode of
hfe.
*'How often we are outwitted by the ani-
mals we himt! The Great Mystery gives
them this chance to save their lives by elud-
ing the hunter, when they have no weapons
of defence. The ewe has seen us, and she
has doubtless warned all the clan of dan-
ger."
But there was one that she did not see.
When the old chief left his clan to go to the
secret place for chipping his horns, the place
where many a past monarch of the Bad
Lands has performed that painful operation,
he did not intend to rejoin them immediately.
It was customary with him at this time to
seek solitude and sleep.
The two hunters found and carefully ex-
amined the tracks of the fleeing clan. The
old ram was not among them. As they fol-
lowed the trail along the terrace, they came
to a leaping-place which did not appear to
be generally used. Grayfoot stopped and
kneeled down to examine the ground below.
"HoT* he exclaimed; *'the old chief has
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Red Hunters SLiid the Afilmo^l People
gone down this trail but has not returned.
He is lying down near his chipping-place, if
there is no other outlet.'*
Both men leaped to the next terrace be-
low, and followed the secret pass into a rocky
amphitheatre, opening out from the terrace
upon which they had first seen the old ram.
Here he lay asleep.
Wacootay pulled an arrow from his quiver.
*'Yes,'* said his friend. "Shoot now! A
warrior is always a warrior — ^and we are look-
ing for horn for spoons.*'
The old chief awoke to behold the most
dreaded hunter — man — upon the very thresh-
old of his sanctuary. Wildly he sprang up-
ward to gain the top of the cliff; but Wa-
cootay was expert and quick in the use of
his weapon. He had sent into his side a
shaft that was deadly. The monarch's fore-
hoofs caught the edge — he struggled bravely
for a moment, then fell limp to the rocky
floor.
**He is dead. My friend, the noblest of
chiefs is dead!" exclaimed Grayfoot, as he
stood over him, in great admiration and re-
spect for the gray chieftain.
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Hootay of the Little Rosebud
ON the south side of Scout Butte there
is a crescent-shaped opening, walled in
by the curving sides of the hill. This little
plain cannot be seen from the top of the
butte. There is a terrace upon its brow on
which a few scrub pines grow, so regularly
that one would think them set there by hu-
man hands. Half-way up the incline there
stood at one time a lone cedar-tree, and at
its foot there might have been discerned a
flat, soft mound. It consisted of earth
thrown up from the diggings of a cavern.
The wild people approaching from the south
could see this mound, but would scarcely
note the entrange to the immense den hidden
behind it. One coming down from the butte
would not notice it, as there were no signs
other than the earth pile. The Little Rose-
bud River takes its rise at the threshold of
this natural barricade.
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Red Hunters e^nd the AnimsLl People
This was the home of Hootay, the aged
medicine-man of the Little Rosebud coimtry.
He was a fighter of many battles, this great
and wise grizzly, who was familiariy called
Hootay, or Stubby Claws, by the Sioux
htinters. They had all known of him for
many years. It was believed of him that he
had scalped not less than eight braves, and
killed even more ponies and dogs. No less
than three and ten times the Sioux had made
expeditions against him, but each time they
had failed. For this reason they declared
that he had good war-medicine. Among the
warriors it had long been understood that
he who takes Hootay's scalp may wear a
war-bonnet. This acknowledgment of his
prowess, of course, was not made known to
the aged yet still formidable bear.
Up and down the Little Rosebud he had
left his well-known imprint, for he had lost
two toes on one foot. Aside from the loss
of his big claws, he had received several
arrow and knife wounds during his warlike
career.
Early in the fall, Hootay had felt a severe
aching of his old hurts. He had eaten of
every root-medicine that he knew, but there
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Hootay of the Little Rosebud
was no relief. Instinct led him to early re-
tirement and hibernation.
His new home was a commodious one, well
filled with dry grass and pine-needles. It is
the custom of his people to remain quiet
until the spring, tmless serious danger
threatens. A series of heavy storms in
early winter had covered and concealed all
his rakings of dry grass and other signs of his
presence, therefore he thought himself se-
cured from molestation. There he lay most
of the time in a deep sleep.
The Sechangu Sioux never altogether
leave this region. It is true that many wan-
der away to the Missouri, the Muddy Water,
or follow the buffalo down to the Platte River,
but some would always rather trust to the
winter htmt upon this familiar stream. This
winter. High Head, with his little band of
eleven men, was wintering at the old place.
Among them was Zechah, a renowned hunt-
er, who had followed this band because of
his love for Hintola, the chief's daughter.
It had been a long courtship, but they were
married at last. Zechah' s skill had been
proved by his father-in-law, and the arrow
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R.ed Hunters o^nd the Animal People
test was only sport to him. His unerring
aim was now the pride of the old chief.
The party encamped on the Little Rose-
bud had eaten all of their fresh meat. They
must seek for game. Accordingly, three
teepees went farther up the river. The win-
ter was wellnigh over when there came a
heavy thaw, and snow-shoes were made for
the use of the hunters.
They pitched the teepees, looking like a
trio of white conical bowlders, in a well-
protected bottom. Winding gulches diverged
from the main stream like the ribs of a huge
snake, until they lost themselves in the hills.
These dry creek-beds were sentinelled by
cedar-trees, erect and soldier-like, which at
a distance looked very black, but near by
they appeared green.
The party was cheerful. High Head was
in the best of spirits, telling the history, tra-
ditions and legends of the region.
''This,'* said he, '*is the country of the
wild tribes who walk with four feet. It is
the home of those people of tmknown lan-
guage. It has never been said that one
could starve upon the Little Rosebud. In
the summer it is the land of battles, both
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HootaLV of the Little Rosebud
among the wild tribes and among men. In
the winter- time there is peace."
At this moment a solitary singer, stand-
ing on the brink of a high cliff behind and
above the teepees, broke into a weird and
doleful chant.
** Listen to the warriors, the song of the
warriors of Wazeyah, the god of cold and
storm!'' Thus he sang in a high, minor key,
with sudden drops to lower notes and in-
flections.
When he ceased sileiice reigned, except
for the occasional snapping of a burning
ember.
Presently the watcher descended and made
his report. ** There is a great wind and
snow coming. Our ponies are some distance
away. We shall not be able to find them
all for the darkness and the storm-wind ap-
proaching.''
*'Ho, ho," spoke High Head, confidently.
"It is not bad. We shall eat meat to-mor-
row. The snow will be deep, and my son-
in-law will have the easier himting. It may
be that I myself will lasso a great bear,"
chuckled the old man.
It snowed and the wind blew on that night
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ICed Hunters aLiid the Animal People
and for four nights following. The little
store of dried meat that they had brought
with them was entirely exhausted. On the
fifth day they all sat looking silently into the
fire. Their faces were worn and haggard.
The children cried for food, but there was no
food. Wazeyah, the god of winter, still
waged war, and the snow was piled high
arotmd their teepees.
Night came, the darkness fell heavily, and
terrified them with the thought of death
aroimd their feeble fires. Famine was sitting
among them with a stem face. At last all
but two rolled themselves in their warm
buffalo-robes and lay down. Even should
the storm cease, they feared that none now
was strong enough to hunt.
Zechah sat beside his yotmg wife, gazing
into the fire. " It will be sad news for my
father that I died of starvation upon the
Little Rosebud," he mused. **It will be
told for generations to come, whenever they
camp at this place.*'
When at last he lay noiselessly down, he
could not sleep. Looking up through the
smoke-hole, he sang a htmting song to him-
self in an undertone:
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HootaLV of the Little ICosebud
"The wind brings the secret news — good news of
the hunting !
It is a scent — it may be a trail — it may be a
soiind of the game!
Whatever it be, it is a clew to the hunter,
A sign from above to appease hunger, to save
life!"
Singing thus, Zechah had forgotten that he
was htingry, when all at once he saw a bright
star through the smoke-hole. He had not
noticed that the wind had ceased to blow.
The htinter arose softly, put on fur-lined
moccasins, and girded himself with a strong
strap over his lightest robe. He took his
knife, a bow, and quiver full of arrows, and
set out through the gray, frosty air.
It was now almost daylight. The rocks
and pines were robed in white, like spirits.
The snow was deep and heavy under Ze-
chah's feet, but he was determined to succeed.
He followed the ridges where the snow was
well blown off. He had forgotten his own
hunger and weakness, and thought only of
the famishing people for him to serve.
Above the eastern hills the day was com-
ing fast. The htmter hurried toward the
gulches where he knew the game was wont
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Red Hunters and the Animal People
to be. Just as he reached the higher ridges
the sun appeared over the hills, and Zechah
came upon the track of another early hunter.
It was Shunkmanitoo, the gray wolf. He
followed the trail until he came out upon a
hill overlooking a deep gulch. He could
only see the tips of the pines along its course.
At a little distance, Shunkmanitoo sat upon
his haunches, apparently awaiting Zechah.
Again he took the lead and the wild hunter
followed. The wolf looked back now and
then as if to see whether the man were com-
ing.
At last he paused upon a projecting bank
commanding the bottom of the gulch. The
Sioux approached him. When he had come
very near, the wolf went on down the slope.
**Hi, hi!'* Zechah spoke his thanks with
arms outstretched toward the rising sun.
Through a rift in the bank he saw a lone
bison, ploughing up the deep snow in search
of grass. He was well covered with snow
and had not seen the two hunters appear
above. Zechah at once dodged backward in
order to approach his game behind cover and
stealthily.
He was now almost over the gulch, partly
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HootaLV of the Little Rosebud
concealed by a bunch of dead thistles. There
was no suspicion in the mind of Tatanka.
Zechah examined his arrows and bow. He
placed the sharpest one to his bow-string, and
with all the strength that he could muster
he let the arrow fly. In another instant he
saw Tatanka snort and plough up the snow
like mad, with the arrow btuied deep in his
side. The bison did not know who or what
had dealt him such a deadly thrust. He ran
in a circle and fell upon the snow, while blood
coursed from his nostrils, staining its white-
ness.
Zechah was almost overcome by his good-
fortune. Again he held his right hand
outstretched toward the stm, and stood
motionless.
"Hi, hi, hi, hi! tunkashela!" Thus he
blessed the Father of all.
. When the March thaw set in, the snow was
melted off the south side of the hills. Hootay
had doubtless had this danger in mind, for
he could not have selected a more excellent
place to avoid the catastrophe. But, alas!
the best calculations will sometimes mis-
carry. It was nothing more than a stray root
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ICed Hunters ^nd the Animal People
of the cedar-tree at his door which deviated
the course of the water, running harmlessly
down the hill, into Hootay's home. In a
short time the old medicine-man was com-
pelled to come out, drenching wet.
He sat down on a dry comer of the mound
to meditate upon his future course. In his
younger days he would have thought nothing
of this misforttme, but now he was old and
rheumatic. No inhabitant of that country
knew better than he that it is not safe to sleep
in the woods on the bottom-lands in the
spring of the year. Hootay is a boastful hunt-
er, often over - confident, yet wise in wood-
craft, and what he has once learned he never
forgets. He knew that when a thaw comes
all the hills contribute their snow and water
to the Little Rosebud, and for a few days it
runs a mighty river. Even Chapa, the bea-
ver, is wont at such times to use his utmost
precautions to guard against disaster.
Hootay carefully considered the direction,
of the wind, sniffed the air to discover if any
other wild hunter were near, and finally set
out in a southwesterly direction toward the
head of the Little Rosebud.
He had not gone far when he felt that he
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HootaLV of the Little Rosebud
was scarcely equal to tramping through the
slush and mud. More than this, he was
leaving too broad a trail behind him. These
considerations led him along the pine ridges,
and for this course there was still another
reason. He was hungry now, but there was
little hope of meeting with any big game.
Along the ridges there is early exposure of
the groimd where edible roots may be ob-
tained, and where he hoped also to find dry
bedding.
He had fair success in this, and had made
himself somewhat comfortable when the bliz-
zard set in. He had fotmd tolerable shelter
but very little food, and since his winter rest
was so unexpectedly broken up, food he must
have. As soon as the storm ceased, he had
to venture out in search of it. He could no
longer depend upon roots — the snow was far
too deep for that. He must catch what he
could. The old fellow was now almost hope-
lessly slow and weak, but he still had a good
deal of confidence in himself.
He waded clumsily through the deep
snow, following a dry creek-bed; and, now
and then, from force of habit, he would
stealthily climb the bank and scan the field
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ICed Hunters ^nd the AnimaLl People
above and below before exposing himself.
This was partly for self -protection and partly
in the hope of surprising his game.
Presently Hootay came upon the footprint
of another hunter. He snarled and put his
muzzle closer to the trail when he detected
the hateful odor of man. At the same in-
stant he smelled fresh meat.
The very smell seemed to give him a new
lease of life, for he sat up on his haunches and
began sniffing the air eloquently. His hair
was as shaggy as that of an old buffalo-robe,
and his age and sitting posture made his
hump appear very prominent.
'*Waugh, waugh!" the old man grunted,
with an air of disgust, for there came to his
nose a strong human scent mingled with the
3avory odor of the Ufe-giving meat.
Zechah distinctly heard the snort of a
bear. He seized his bow and quiver full of
arrows.
**Can it be that Hootay is near?*' he mut-
tered to himself. **He may perhaps add
my scalp to the many that he has taken of
my people, but I will first send an arrow of
mine into his body!*'
He rested his bow upon the shaggy head
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HootaLV of the Little Rosebud
of the dead bull, and went on skinning it
with a large knife, working rapidly. Pres-
ently the gray wolf approached from an-
other direction.
**Ho, kola, you have guided me to game!
It is yours and mine. You, too, shall have
meat,'* he said.
As soon as he had skinned one side, Ze-
chah cut off a generous piece and walked tow-
ard Shtmkmanitoo, who was sitting upon his
haunches, watching him work in that won-
derful way with a single sharp thing in his
hand. But he did not think it best to trust
the wild man too far, for he still carried that
sharp thing in his hand as he approached him
with the meat. He arose and moved back-
ward a few paces.
**Do not fear, kola! Warriors and himt-
ers like ourselves must have faith in each
other when they work together for a good
cause,'* the Red man said, again. He placed
the meat upon the snow where Shunkmanitoo
had been sitting, and returned to his work.
After a time, and with apparent reluctance,
the big, burly wolf came back to his meat
and examined it. At last he ate of it.
It was good. He no longer feared the wild
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R.ed Hunters aLnd the AnimaLl People
man. From time to time Zechah would
throw him a piece of meat until he was
satisfied.
The himter had cleared away the snow
around the buffalo, which was now cut up in
convenient pieces for carrying. He was ex-
ceedingly himgry. He had, indeed, eaten
a piece of the liver, which the Sioux always
eats raw, but this only served to sharpen his
appetite. He had heavy work before him,
for he must take some of the meat home to
his starving wife, and then bring as many of
the people as were able to walk to carry the
rest to camp. There were plenty of dry-
boughs of the pine. He made a fire by rub-
bing together the pieces of dry cedar - wood
which every Indian himter of that day car-
ried with him, and, broiling strips of the
savory meat upon live coals, he ate of it
heartily.
Suddenly a fearful growl was heard. Ze-
chah had dismissed the idea of a bear from
his mind as soon as his friend Shunkmanitoo
appeared. He was taken by surprise. When
he looked up, Hootay was almost upon him.
He came forward with his immense jaws wide
open, his shaggy hair making him look as
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Hootay of the Little Rosebud
big as a buffalo btill against the clear white-
ness of the landscape.
Shunkmanitoo's chance was small. He oc-
cupied the only road to Zechah's position,
and there were perpendicular walls of snow
on either side of him. His only hope lay in
his quickness and agility. As Hootay rushed
madly upon him with uplifted paw, the wolf
sprang nimbly to one side and well up on the
snow-bank. His assailant had to content
himself with raking down the snow, and in
the effort he plimged into a heavy drift from
which he was imable to drag himself.
Hootay was in sad trouble, for he had
tumbled right into a deep gully filled to the
brim with soft snow, and the more he strug-
gled the deeper he was sinking. Zechah per-
ceived the situation, and made ready to send
the fatal arrow.
Hootay waved his right paw pitifully.
There was something human-like about him.
The Indian's heart beat fast with excitement.
Weakened by his long fast, he scarcely saw
or heard clearly, but, according to the tra-
ditions of his people, the old bear addressed
him in these words:
"No, Zechah, spare an old warrior's life!
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ICed Hunter* ^nd the AnimaLl People
My spirit shall live again in you. You shall
be henceforth the war prophet and medicine-
man of your tribe. I will remain here, so
that your people may know that you have
conquered Hootay, the chief of the Little
Rosebud coimtry."
It is not certain that he really said this,
but such was the belief of the hunter. He
put his arrow back in the quiver, and im-
mediately, according to custom, he took his
pipe from his belt and smoked the pipe of
peace.
A huge piece of meat was suspended from
his shoulders above the quiver, and, with his
bow firmly grasped in the right hand, Ze-
chah addressed his friend Shunkmanitoo :
"Ho, kola, you have eaten what is yours;
leave mine for my starving people!"
The wolf got up .and trotted away as if he
understood, while Zechah hurried back on
his own trail with tidings of life and happi-
ness.
He ran as often as he came to open ground,
and in a short time stood upon the top of the
hill with the little group of teepees just be-
low him. The smoke from each arose sadly
in a straight column, tapering upward tmtil
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HootaLV of the Little Rosebud
lost in the blue. Not a sotd stirred and all
was quiet as the dead.
**Ho, he ya hay!'' the hunter chanted
aloud, and ended with a war-whoop. Out of
the sleepy-looking teepees there came a rush
of men and women. Old High Head ap-
peared with outstretched hands, singing
and pouring forth praises. **Hi, hi, hi, hi!"
he uttered his thanks, in a powerful voice,
still stretching his arms to heaven.
Hintola was the quietest and most com-
posed of them all. She went first to meet
her husband, for it was the custom that, when
the son - in - law returns with game, his wife
must meet him outside the camp and bring
back food to her parents.
Having distributed the meat in small
pieces, High Head annoimced his son-in-
law's success as a himter, and solicited all
who were able to join him in going after the
remainder. He ended with a guttural song
of cheer and gladness.
It was then Zechah told of his meeting
with the other wild htmters, and how Hoo-
tay was conquered and imprisoned in the
snow.
**Ugh, ugh!" grunted High Head, with
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ICed Hunters ^nd the AnimaLl People
much satisfaction. "This means a war-
bonnet for my son-in-law — a story for com-
ing generations!"
But the htmter did not repeat the bear's
words to himself until he had become a fa-
mous war prophet. When the people went
after the meat, they found the old warrior
lying dead without a wound, and with one
accord they made a proper offering in his
honor.
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The River People
AWAY up the Pipestone Creek, within
/i. sight of the Great Pipestone Quarry,
lived old Chapawee and her old man Hezee,
of the beaver tribe. Unlike some of their
neighbors, they had emigrated from a great
distance. They had, therefore, much valu-
able experience ; and this experience was not
theirs alone — it was shared with their im-
mediate family. Hence their children and
their children's children were tmcommonly
wise.
They had come to this cotmtry many
years before, and had established their home
in this ancient and much-prized resort of the
two-legged tribe. Aroimd the Pipestone
Quarry the wild Red men would camp in
large numbers every summer, and it seemed
that the oldest beaver could not remember
a time when they were not there. Their
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R.ed Hvnters a-nd the Animal People
noisy ways were terrible indeed to the river
people, who are a quiet folk.
It was the custom with this simple and
hard-working pair to build a very warm
house for themselves. In fact, they had both
summer and winter homes, besides many
supply and store houses. Their dam was
always in perfect order, and their part of the
creek was the deepest and clearest, therefore
their robe of furs was of the finest. If any
of the Hezee band was ever killed by the two-
legs, their fur was highly valued.
Chapawee always insisted upon two rooms
in her house : one for herself and the old man,
and one for her yearling children who chose
to remain with them for the first winter.
She always built one very large house, run-
ning deep into the bank, so that in case of
overflow or freshet they would still be safe.
Besides the usual supply-houses, she and her
old man excavated several dining-rooms.
These are simply pockets underground at the
edge of the stream. In case of any danger
on the surface, they could take some food
from a store - house and carry it to one of
these dining-rooms, where it was eaten in
peace.
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The River People
It was the rule with the old folks to eat
apart from their year -old children. The
yearlings, on the other hand, eat all together,
and have as much ftm and freedom as they
please. Their merriest frolics, however, are
in the night, in and upon their swimming and
diving pond. Here they coast rapidly head-
first down a steep bank slippery with mud,
lying upon their chests or sitting upon their
haunches, and at times they even turn som-
ersaults and perform other acrobatic feats.
This coasting has a threefold object. It is
for play and also for practice; to learn the
art of sliding into deep water without un-
necessary noise; and, more than all, accord-
ing to the Red people, it i^ done for the pur-
pose of polishing and beautifying their long,
silky fur.
The beaver tribe are considered wisest of
the smaller four-legged tribes, and they are a
people of great common-sense. Even man
gains wisdom and philosophy from a study
of their customs and manners. It is in the
long winter nights, as is believed and in-
sisted upon by the wild Indians, that the
beaver old folks recite their legends to their
children and grandchildren. In this case it
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R.ed Hunters qlAiI the AnimeLl People
was usually Chapawee who related the tra-
ditions of her people and her own experiences,
gathering about her all the yearlings and the
newly married couples, who might take a
notion to go oflE in search of a new claim,
just as she and Hezee did. So it was well
that they should thoroughly understand the
ways and wisdom of their people.
To be sure, she had breathed it into them
and fed them with it since before they could
swim; yet she knew that some things do not
remain in the blood. There are certain
traits and instincts that are very strong in
family and tribe, because they refer to con-
ditions that never change ; but other matters
outside of these are likewise very useful in
an emergency.
Old Chapawee could never sleep after the
sun reaches the middle of the western sky in
summer. In winter they all sleep pretty
much all of the day. Having finished her
supper with Hezee one night imder the large
elm-tree on the east side of the dam, she
dove down with a somersault, glided along
close to the bottom of the pond, inspecting
every pebble and stray chip from their work-
room, until she reached the assembly-room,
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The ILiver People
which might ahnost be called a school-house
in the manner of the paleface.
She came scrambling up the slippery bank
to the middle entrance. No sooner had she
shaken off the extra water from her long
hair than Hezee's gray mustache emerged
from the water, without exposing his head.
He was teasing the old lady, trying to make
her believe there was a crab in the landing.
Quick as a flash she flopped over in the air
and slapped the side of her broad tail upon
the water where her spouse was lurking to
deceive her. Down he dove to the bottom
and lay there motionless as if he expected
her to hunt him up ; but after a while he went
off and notified all the young people that it
^as time for their gathering at the old meet-
ing-house.
Here Chapawee occupied the place of hon-
or, while Hezee filled the undignified position
of errand-boy. All the young beavers came
in, some stiU carrying a bit of sapling in
their mouths, but, on realizing their mistake,
each dove back to place it where it belonged.
They arranged themselves in a circle, sitting
upright on their flat tails for cushions, their
hands folded under their chins.
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ILed Hvnters a-nd the Anima.! People
"A long time ago/* began Chapawee, the
old beaver grandmother, '*we lived on the
other side of the Muddy Water (the Missouri),
upon a stream called Wakpala Shecha (Bad
B^ver). Father and mother, with my older
brothers and sisters, built a fine dam and
had a great pond there. But we led a hard
life. There are not many ponds on Bad
River and the stream dries up every summer,
therefore thousands of buffalo came to our
place to drink. They were very bad people.
It seems that they do not respect the laws
and customs of any other nation. They used
to come by the hundred into our pond and
trample down our houses and wear holes in
the banking of our dam. They are so large
and clumsy that they would put their feet
right through the walls, and we had to hide
in our deepest holes imtil we were very htm-
gry, waiting for them to go away.
'*Then there were the shunktokechas and
shimgelas (wolves and foxes), who follow the
buffalo. They, too, are a bad and danger-
ous sort, so that mother and father had to be
continually on the watch. We little beaver
children played upon the dam only when
mother thought it safe. In the night we
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The R.iver People
used to enjoy our swimming, diving, and
coasting school. We practised gnawing
sticks, and the art of making mud cement
that will hold water, how to go to the bottom
silently, without effort, and to spank the
water for a signal or danger-call with our
tails.
"There were many other bad people in
that coimtry. There was the ugly old
grizzly. He would sometimes come to our
place to swim and cool off. We would not
mind, only he is so treacherous. He was
ready to kill one of us at any moment if we
gave him the chance.
"Mother played a trick on him once,
because he was such a nuisance. He was
wont to crawl out upon one of the logs
which projected from the dam and over the
deep water. This log was braced by posts
in the water. Mother lay on the bottom
and loosened the soil and then quickly pulled
one of the posts away, and the old grizzly
fell in headlong. She dove to one side, and,
as the old man struggled to get out, crawled
up behind him and gashed one of his hind
paws with her sharp wood-choppers. Oh,
how the old fellow howled and how he scram-
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ILed Hunters a-nd the AnimeLl People
bled for the dam! He groaned long as he
sat on the bank and doctored his wounded
foot. After that he was never again seen
to sit upon one of our logs, but when he
came to the river to drink and cool off his hot
paws he always took the farthest point from
our houses, and then he only put one foot
in the water at a time.
"Mother was dreadfully afraid of one
wicked animal. That was Igmu, the moim-
tain Uon. He does not hve in this part of
the coimtry, and it is such a relief," said the
old beaver woman. '* Whenever one of the
Igmus comes to our place, we all hurry to
deep water and lie there, for they have been
known to dig through the walls of our houses.
"There was still another danger that our
people had to contend with. Wakpala
Shecha has a swift current and a narrow bed,
and we had terrible freshets two or three
times in a season.
*' At last there came a great flood. It was
after I was two years old and had learned
everything — how to chop wood, which way
to fell the trees, and what to store up for the
winter; how to mix mud cement and drive
posts in the creek bottom, and all of the
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The ILiver People
other lessons. Early in the spring, while
there was still snow on the ground, a heavy-
rain came. Every dry gulch was a torrent.
We had never known such a flood. It car-
ried away all our dams and made our strong-
est houses cave in. We did not dare to go to
shore, for we could hear the wolves calling
all along the banks.
"At last mother and father boimd two
drift-logs together with willow withes. We
all helped, as none of us ever thmk of being
idle. Upon the logs we made a rude nest,
and here we all slept and ate as we floated
down the stream.
** After several days we came to a heavily
timbered bottom where there was a very
large fallen tree. The roots held firmly to
the bank and projected over the water. We
all let go of our raft and climbed upon it;
there were bushy branches at the top. We
trimmed the trunk of the tree leading to dry
land and built a temporary nest upon the
bushy top, until the water should go down
and we could find a good place to bmld.
Mother and father went down the stream the
next night to explore for a new home, and I
was left in the nest with two brothers. We,
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Red Hunters and the Animal People
too, explored the shores and little inlets near
us, but we all came back to the nest that
morning except mother and father. I have
never seen them from that day to this.
** I and my two brothers slept together in
the warm nest. All at once I felt a slight
jar. I opened my eyes, and there lay upon
the tnmk of our tree a fierce Igmu, ready
to fish us out with his strong arm and hooked
claws.
** Kerchunk! I dropped into the deep
stream to save my life. I swam a little way,
and then came to the surface and peeped
back. Ah, I saw him seize and violently
dash one of my brothers against the tree, but
the other I did not see. Perhaps he did as
I did to save himself.
" I went down the Bad River until I came
to the Big Muddy. Ice was floating in huge
cakes upon the brown flood. I wanted to
go, too, for I had heard of a country far to
the sxmrise of the great river. I climbed
upon a floating ice-cake, and I moved on
down the Muddy Water.
" I kept a close watch on the shores, hop-
ing to see father and mother, but I saw no
sign of them. I passed several islands, but
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The River People
the shores were loose sand. It was not the
kind of soil in which our people build, so I
did not stop, although there were fine tall
cotton woods and all the kinds of trees that
we eat. Besides, I did not care to go to
shore or up the mouths of any of the creeks
unless I should discover signs of our tribe.
It was the first time in my life that I had
ever been alone.
** So I kept on my ice-boat tmtil I was out
of food, and then I stopped at an island. I
swam near the shore to find a good landing,
and when I reached the bank I saw the foot-
prints of a beaver man. My heart beat
hard, and I could hardly beheve my eyes.
Some one had cut down a fresh sapling, and
as I ate of the deUcious bark and twigs I was
watching for him every moment. But he
did not come.
''Then I went back to the water's edge to
study the trail and see where he went. I
fotmd to my disappointment that he had
gone back to the water. As my mother had
taught me every beaver sign, I knew he
was a traveller, come to take food, as I
was. Hoping to overtake him, I hurried
back to another floating cake of ice, and
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ILed Hunters qlikI the Animal People
again I found myself going down the big
stream.
**When I came in sight of another island,
I watched carefully and saw some one mov-
ing on the shore. I was not himgry then,
but I landed and began to nibble a twig at
the water's edge. Presently I saw a beau-
tiful young man coming toward me with a
fine sapling in his mouth. I think I never
saw a nicer looking beaver man than Kam-
doka! He, too, was so glad to see me, and
brought me the sapling to eat.
"We were soon so devoted and absorbed
in each other that we forgot all about our
journey. Kamdoka proposed that we should
never leave one another, and I agreed. He
at once built a rude house right imder a high
bank, where a tree had fallen over the water
and its roots still held firm. On each side he
planted double rows of sticks, and plastered
the whole with mud. The narrow door was
concealed by the tree-trunk, and led directly
into the water. This was our first home.
It was only for a few days, for we soon dis-
covered that we could not hve there.
''There were still a few large cakes of ice
going down the river, and on these we con-
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The River People
tinued our journey, until one night our ice
broke up and we were forced to swim. At
last we came to a country which was just
such as we would like to live in, and a stream
that seemed the very one we had been dream-
ing about. It had good, firm banks, nice
landings, and was just small enough to dam
if necessary. Kamdoka and I were very
happy. This stream the Red people call
the Wakpaepakshan (Bend of the River).
** It was not long before the wild men came
in great numbers to this beautiful river, and
they were worse than Igmu and the grizzly.
With their round iron with the iron strings
they caught many of the beaver neighbors.
Sometimes they would come with their dogs
and drive us out of our houses with dry en-
trances; again, they would hide the roimd
iron at our coasting and diving places, so
that they caught many of our people. It is
impossible to get away when one is bitten
by one of these round irons. It was this
which forced us at last to leave this lovely
spot.
"While we still lived upon this stream, it
came about that Kamdoka was called Hezee.
His fine pair of wood-choppers had grown
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ILed Hvnters OLnd the Animal People
short and very yellow — that is why he is
called Hezee — ^Yellow Teeth. Hezee and I
forsook our home after our little Chapchin-
cha was caught by the wild men. Hezee's
sharp eyes discovered one of these ugly irons
on our premises, and he reported it to me. I
cautioned the children to be careful, and for
a time they were so, but one morning my
baby, my little Chapchincha, forgot, and,
pltmging blindly down from our landing, she
was seized! They took her away with them,
and the very next night we moved from that
place.
'* We foimd the mouth of this stream and
followed it up. We selected many pretty
places, but they were all claimed by some of
the older inhabitants. Several times Hezee
fought for the right to a home, and you can
see where he had an ear bitten off in one of
these fights. We had no peace until we
came within sight of the Pipestone Quarry.
To be sure, there are many wild men here
also, but they come in midsummer, when they
do not kill any beaver people. We simply
keep close to our homes when they are here,
and they scarcely ever trouble us.
" Children, we have made many fine homes,
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The River People
Hezee and I. We both came from beyond
the Muddy Water — a very bad country. It
is the coxintry of coyotes, bears, bighorns, and
the like. This is a country for our people.
If any of you should be dissatisfied, or driven
to leave your home, do not go beyond the
Muddy Water. Always take one of the
large streams, going to the south and the
stmrise of the great river.
'*You see my fingers getting stubby and
nailless. Hezee's wood-choppers are no long-
er sharp. His long mustache is gray now.
We are getting old. But we have lived
happily, Hezee and I. We have raised
many beaver people. We shall hope never
to go away from this place.
** Children, be true to the customs of your
people. Always have good homes. First of
all, you must build a strong dam — then you
will have deep water. You must have both
underground homes and adobes . Have plen-
ty of store-houses, well filled ; and when the
enemy comes to kill you, you can hold out for
many days."
These were the old beaver woman's words
to her young people. **Ho, ho!" they ap-
plauded her when she had done.
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ICed Hvnters and the Anima.! People
"You must leam all these things," said
old Hezee, after his wife had done. "Al-
ways gnaw your tree more on the side tow-
ard the stream, so that it will fall over the
water. You should cut down the trees on
the very edge of the bank. Dive to the
bottom and under the bank as the tree falls.
Sometimes one of us is pinned down by a
branch of a fallen tree and dies there. I
myself have seen this. The water is the
safest place. You must never go too far
away from deep water.'*
Up and down Pipestone Creek for four or
five miles spread the community formed by
Chapawee's and Hezee's descendants. There
was not any large timber, only a few scattered
trees here and there, yet in most places there
was plenty of food, for the river people do
not depend entirely upon the bark of trees
for their sustenance. No village was kept
in better order than this one, for it was the
wisdom of Chapawee and Hezee that made
it so. Summer nights, the series of ponds
was alive with their young folks in play and
practice of the lessons in which the old pair
had such a pride. Their stream overflowed
with the purest of spring water. No fish
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The ICiver People
were allowed to pollute their playgrounds.
The river people do not eat fish, but no fish
are found in their neighborhoods. If Mr.
and Mrs. Otter, with their five or six roguish
children, occasionally intruded upon their
domain, the men of the tribe politely re-
quested them to go elsewhere. So for a long
time they held sway on the Pipestone Creek,
and the little beaver children dove and
swam undisturbed for many summers.
But Chapawee and Hezee were now very
old. They occupied a pond to themselves.
Both were half blind and toothless, but there
were certain large weeds which were plenti-
ful and afforded them delicious food. They
remained in-doors a great deal of the time.
**Ho; koda!" was the greeting of two
Indian men who appeared one day at the
door of the old American Fur Company's
store upon the Sioux reservation in Minne-
sota.
''How, Red Blanket! How, One Feath-
er!" was the reply of the trader. '* Isn't it
about time for you people to start in on
your fall trapping?**
"Yes, that is what we came for. We
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ICed Hunters a,fid the Animal People
want traps, ammunition, and two spades
on account. We have learned from the
prairie Indians that the Big Sioux and its
tributaries are full of beaver, otter, mink,
and musk-rats. We shall go into that re-
gion for two months' himting," said Red
Blanket, speaking for the two. Both men
were experienced trappers.
''We must strike the Pipestone Quarry
and then follow down that stream to its
mouth,** remarked One Feather to his friend,
after they had returned to camp with a load
of goods that they had seciu-ed on credit,
and had cut up some of the tobacco for
smoking.
A few days later two solitary teepees
stood on the shore of the pond, imder the
red cliffs of the Pipestone Quarry.
Red Blanket had gone down the stream
to examine the signs. Toward evening, he
came in with a large beaver on his shoulder.
" Koda, the stream is alive with beaver!
I saw all of their dams and their houses, and
many were out swinmiing without fear.
They have not been disturbed in many
years."
Soon both himters emerged from their
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The IClver People
teepees heavily laden with traps, each man
accompanied by his intelligent dog. They
saw many fresh tracks of the inhabitants as
they approached the beaver village. Their
houses above groimd were large and numer-
ous, and their undergrotmd homes were as
many, but the entrances were concealed by
the water. The slides were still wet with
recent plays.
** It is the home of their great chief," said
Red Blanket, impressively. ** Friend, let us
sit down and offer the pipe ! We must smoke
to the beaver chief's spirit, that he may not
cast an evil charm upon our hunting."
Both men sat down upon their crossed
feet in the tall meadow-grass to carry out
the familiar suggestion. One Feather pulled
the leather tobacco-pouch from his hunting-
belt, and filled the pipe. He held the mouth-
piece to the four comers of the earth before
handing it to his companion. As they
smoked, their faces were serious, and ex-
pressed the full dignity and importance
they had given to their intended massacre
of a harmless and wise people.
**Let us go down a little way," said One
Feather, finally. **I want to see how far
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the dams extend, and if it is only one family
or many."
When they reached the second dam, the
pond contained very little sign of beaver.
There were landing and feeding places, but
apparently they were not much used. The
water was very deep and clear. Beyond
this pond were many fresh signs again.
This raised a new question in the minds of
the Red himters. On the way back again,
they stopped on the shore of this pond and
smoked again, while they discussed why
there was not much life there, when there
was such fine, deep, clear water, and the
dams in such perfect condition.
"It may be a haimted pond," said One
Feather.
" It is certain that some strange thing lives
in this deep water," added Red Blanket,
with gravity. They were fully concealed
by the tall grass, and their dogs lay quietly
at their sides.
"Look, my friend, it is he!" exclaimed
One Feather, suddenly. They quickly faced
about to behold an animal scramble up the
steep bank. Both of his ears were entirely
gone. The hair of his head and face was
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The ICiver People
quite gray, including the few coarse whiskers
that the beaver people wear. It looked very-
like the unshaven face of an old man. The
hair of his body was short and rough — ^the
silky, reddish coat was gone.
** It is an old, old beaver," whispered One
Feather. ** Ah, he is the grandfather of the
village! I see now why this pond is not
much used by the young folks. The old
people live here.**
He was apparently half blind and hard of
hearing, as they had made enough noise to
attract Hezee's attention, but he did not
move. Soon Chapawee came up slowly and
sat beside her old man. As the two sat
there, upright, sunning themselves, there
came from a distance an undertone call.
Then a large female beaver glided up the
stream, bearing in her mouth the fine, branchy
bough of a tree, which she must have gone
some miles to get. She approached the old
pair, and kindly set the branch before them.
While they greedily nibbled at it, the young
woman quietly disappeared.
** These are people much like us. Surely
they build much warmer houses than we
do,*' said Red Blanket, laughing.
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ICed Hunters a,nd the Anima,! People
"Yes, they are a wonderful people," re-
plied his friend, with a serious face. "This
is the grandmother's pond. We shall re-
spect it to-morrow," he continued. **We
shall open the other dams and drain the
water oflf, then the entrances will all be dry
and our dogs will enter their homes and
drive them out. When they come out, we
shall spear them." This was the plan of
One Feather, to which his companion as-
sented.
It was a sad day for the river people.
Presently the two slayers came to the pond
of Hezee and Chapawee, where they lay
nestled together in their old, warm bed.
"I would like to leave the two old people
alone," said One Feather. "But we cannot
get at the upper ponds without draining this
one." So it was decided to break down
both of their dams. When the entrance to
their house was exposed, the dogs rushed in
and were beginning to bark, but One Feather
called them back.
The work was accomplished, but it had
taken two days. It was a sad massacre !
" We must repair the dam for the old folks
before we go, and I have left four young
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The ICiver People
ones alive, so that they can help feed them.
I do not want their spirits to follow us,"
said One Feather. So on the very next
morning the two hunters came back to the
middle pond. Red Blanket with his dog
was a little in advance.
**Come here, friend!" he called. There
Hezee and Chapawee lay cold and stiff in the
open.
They had gone out in the dark to rebuild
their dam, according to the habit of a long
life. Then they visited some of their chil-
dren's homes for aid, but all were silent and
in ruins. Again they came back to work,
but it was all in vain. They were too old;
their strength had left them ; and who would
care in such a case to survive the ruins of his
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The ChMlenge
THE medicine - drum was struck with
slow, monotonous beat — that sound
which always comes forth from the coimcil-
lodge with an impressive air of authority.
Upon this particular occasion it was merely
a signal to open the ears of the people. It
was the prelude to an annoimcement of the
day's programme, including the names of
those warriors who had been chosen to
supply the governing body with food and
tobacco during that day. These names were
presently announced in a sing-song or chant-
ing call which penetrated to the outskirts of
the Indian village.
Just as Tawahinkpayota, or Many Arrows,
was cutting up a large plug of black tobacco
— for he was about to invite several intimate
friends to his lodge — ** Tawahinkpayota,
anpaytu lay woyutay watinkta mechecha
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The Cha.llef\ge
uyay yo-o-oP* the sonorous call, came for the
second time. He stepped outside and held
up an eagle feather tied to a staff. This was
his answer, and signified his willingness to
perform the service.
Having cut a sufficient quantity of to-
bacco. Many Arrows asked his wife to call at
the home of each of the famous htmters
whom he intended to honor, for it is the
loved wife who has this privilege. Plying
Bee was the first invited ; then Black Hawk,
Antler, and Charging Bear. The lodge of
Many Arrows was soon the liveliest quarter
of the Big Cat village — for this particular
band of Sioux was known as the Big Cat
band. All came to the host's great buffalo-
skin teepee, from the top of which was flying
a horse's tail trimmed with an eagle feather,
to denote the home of a man of distinction.
*' Ho, kola,*' greeted the host from his seat
of dignified welcome. **Ho,** replied each
guest as he gracefully opened the door-flap.
Inside of the spacious teepee were spread for
seats the choicest robes of bear, elk, and
bison. Mrs. Tawahinkpayota, who wished
to do honor to her husband's guests, had
dressed for the occasion. Her jet-black hair
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ICed Hunters a.i\d the Atilma.! People
was smoothly combed and arranged in two
long plaits over her shoulders. Her face
was becomingly painted, and her superb gar-
ment of richly embroidered doeskin com-
pleted a picture of prosperous matronhood.
While her husband offered the guests a
short roimd of whiifs from the pipe of peace,
she went quietly about her preparations for
the repast, and presently served each in turn
with the choicest delicacies their lodge afford-
ed. When all with due deliberation had
ended their meal, the host made his expected
speech — ^for it was not without intention that
he had brought these noted men together.
'* Friends," said he, *'a thought has come
to me strongly. I will open my mind to you.
We should go to Upanokootay to shoot elk,
deer, and antelope. We have been long upon
the prairie, killing only buffalo. We need
fine buckskin for garments of ceremony.
We want also the skins of bears for robes
suitable to a warrior's home, such as the
home of each one of you. And then, you
know, we must please our women, who great-
ly desire the elk's teeth for ornament, and for
fine needle-work the quills of the porcupine."
"Ho, ho!" they replied, in chorus.
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The Cha.lleng«
'* It is always well," resumed Many Arrows,
"for great hunters to go out in company.
For this reason I have called you three to-
gether. Is it not true that Upanokootay,
Elk Point, is the place we should seek?*'
Again they all assented. So it came about
that the five hunters and their wives, who
must cure and dress the skins of the game,
departed from the large camp upon the Big
Sioux River and journeyed southward tow-
ard the favored hunting-ground.
It was near the close of the moon of
black cherries, when elk and antelope roam
in great herds, and the bears are happiest,
because it is their feasting-time. There was
to be a friendly contest in the himting.
All agreed to use no weapon save the bow
and arrows, although the '* mysterious iron"
and gunpowder had already been intro-
duced. Furthermore, they agreed that no
pony should be used in running down the
game. Thus the rules which should govern
the character of the hunt were all deter-
mined upon in advance, and the natural
rivalry between the hunters was to be dis-
played in a fair and open trial of skill and
endurance. It was well known that these
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Red Hunters a.i\d the Aniina.1 People
five were all tried and mighty men beyond
most of their fellows. This does not mean
that they were large men; on the contrary,
none was much above the medium height,
but they were exceptionally symmetrical
and deep-chested.
On the second morning, the men scattered
as usual, after selecting a camping-grotind
at which all would meet later in the day.
Each himter was attired in his lightest buck-
skin leggings and a good running pair of
moccasins, while only a quiver with the ar-
rows and bows swimg over his stalwart shoul-
ders. All set out apparently in different
directions, but they nevertheless kept a close
watch upon one another, for the chief occa-
sion of an Indian's mirth is his friend's mis-
takes or mishaps in the chase.
Plying Bee hastened along the upper
ridges overlooking the plain. What! a great
herd of elk grazing not far away! It was
needful to get as close to them as possible in
order to make a successful chase. He threw
off all superfluous garments, tossed his
quiver to one side, and took three arrows
with the bow in his hand. He then crept
up a ravine until he came within a short dis-
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The Cha.llenge
tance of the herd. As he cautiously raised
his head for a sxrrvey, he saw a jack-rabbit*s
long ears a httle way oflf, while a yearling an-
telope showed itself above the long grass to
the left.
*' Ugh, you may fool the elk, but you can't
fool me!'* he remarked as he smiled to him-
self.
Again, on the farther side, a fawn's head
was turned in the direction of the herd.
'^Ho, ho!" chuckled Flying Bee. "Where
is the other?"
Just then, at his right, a little buffalo calf's
head was pushed cautiously above a bimch
of grass.
** Ugh, you are all here, are you? Then I
will show you how to chase the elk."
He pulled a large btinch-weed and held it
in front of him so that the elk could not
see him for a moment. Then he ran forward
rapidly under cover of the weed.
He had scarcely done this when Charging
Bear emerged from the direction of the fawn
display. Tawahinkpeota came forth from
the antelope head, while Black Hawk and
Antler rose up where the jack-rabbit and
calf had lain. Bee disappeared in the midst
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Red Huntere and the Animal People
of the fleeing herd, as he was a ninner of
exceptional swiftness. The great herd de-
parted in a thunder of hoofs, and the five
friends paused to smoke together and ex-
change jokes before going to examine their
game. Black Hawk, whose quarry had gone
with the rest, carrying his arrows, was great-
ly disappointed, and he inmiediately became
a butt for the wit and ridicule of the others.
'*How is this, friend? Have the elk such
a fear of the harmless jack-rabbit ? It seems
that they did not give you a chance to make
your swift arrows coimt."
**Ha, ha, ha!'' laughed Tawahinkpayota.
" The elk people never knew before that a
rabbit would venture to give them chase."
**Ah, but he has often been seen to run
after elk, deer, and even buffalo to save his
own scalp from the wolves when he is pur-
sued!" Thus Charging Bear came to the
rescue of his friend.
And so they joked while Antler filled the
pipe.
"We must take only one or two short
whiffs," he reminded them, as he crowded
down the mixture of tobacco and willow bark
into the red bowl. It was the time of hunting
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The Cha.llei\g«
and rtinning, when men do not smoke much,
and the young men not at all.
Having finished their smoke, they arose
and followed the trail of the elk. The animal
shot by Flying Bee lay dead not far away,
with an arrow sticking out of the opposite
side of its body, for he was a powerful man.
Soon they came to two does lying dead, but
there were no arrows, and the wounds were
not arrow wounds.
'*Ho, kola, him-hun-hay! Surely you
could not use yoxrr knife while rimning bow
in hand?" remarked Black Hawk.
" We shall make it a rule hereafter that no
one shall use any strange or unusual weapon,"
added Many Arrows, jestingly.
**You see now how a Bee can sting!"
chimed in Charging Bear, in much mirth
and admiration for the feat of his friend.
This, or something not unlike it, was now
their daily experience, while their wives
busily dressed the skins of their game and
cured such of the meat as they cared to save.
Each man kept a mental record of his shots
for future reference, and all bore with un-
failing good-humor the kindly ridicule of
their fellows. They often htmted singly,
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R.ed Hunters and the Animal People
yet the tendency was to be on the look-
put for one another as well as for them-
selves, knowing that they were always in
more or less peril from ferocious animals, as
well as from the enemies of their people.
They would also send out one of their num-
ber from time to time to scout the ground
over which they expected to hunt on the
following day.
"Ho, koowah yay yo, kola!" was the cry
of Black Hawk, one evening, inviting his
companion hunters to feast at his lodge.
He had been appointed to scout the field
south of their camp, and, having explored the
country thoroughly, was ready to make his
report.
"The land south of us, along the river,"
said he, "is well peopled with elk, deer, and
beaver, and the prairie adjoining is full of
buffalo. As far as the eye can see, their
herds are cotmtless. But, friends, ' ' he added,
"there are also bears in this region. I have
seen them, and I saw many of their fresh
tracks."
Black Hawk was a clever scout, and could
imitate both the actions and call of any ani-
mal so as almost to deceive his fellow-htmt-
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The ChoLllenge
ers. He had covered considerable ground
that afternoon.
** There is, however, no recent sign of any
of our enemies, and the game is better than
in any year that I have come here," he said
again.
**Ho, ho, ho!*' was the chorus of thanks
from the others.
** Flying Bee, you have hunted in this re-
gion longer than the rest of us. Tell us of
the wisdom of other years," suggested one.
**Ho, kola, hechetu!" again came the ap-
proving chorus.
The feast was eaten, the pipe was laid
aside, and Flying Bee began thus:
**It was in the same year that the great
battle was fought between the Omahas and
the Yankton Sioux, tmder this high ridge.
We were hunting upon the other side, and I
saw then as many elk and deer as there are
now. I was a young man and had just be-
gun to know the ways of the elk and his
weaknesses.
**You must never allow him to get your
scent, but you can let him see you, provided
he does not understand. If he thinks you
are some other animal, he will not trouble
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R.ed Hunters and the AnimoLl People
to move away, but if you make him curious
he will come to you. If you put on a brown
suit and appear and disappear in the edge
of the woods at evening or early morning,
the doe will approach you curiously. In the
spring moons you can deceive her with the
doe-caller, and a little later than this you
can deceive her with the call of the buck elk.
**If you have a 'mysterious iron' you can
shoot down any ntmiber of them. A woman
or a white man could do as much. Also, if
you have a swift pony you can run down
almost any game. This is no true test of
skill. Do as we are doing now — hunt on foot
with only the bow and arrow or the knife and
stone for weapons, for these were the weapons
of our people for tmtold years.
"There are no finer animals than the elk
folk. I have studied their ways, because,
as you know, we have followed their cus-
toms in courtship and warfare as much as
those of any nation. Doubtless all our man-
ners and customs were first copied from the
ways of the best animal people,*' added the
speaker.
"Ho, kola, hechetu!*' was the unanimous
endorsement of his friends.
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The ChoLllenge
"From now on the great elk chieftain
gathers his herd. The smaller herds are
kept by smaller chiefs, and there are many-
duels. I say again, no duel is brave and
honest as that of the elk. When the chal-
lenge comes, it means a death-notice and
must be accepted. The elk is no coward ; he
never refuses, although he knows that one
at least must die in the fight.
**The elk woman, too, is the most truly
coquettish of all animals. She is pretty and
graceful, but she is ready to elope with the
first suitor. Therefore, we call the young
man who is especially successful in court-
ship the elk young man. The girlish and
coquettish young woman we call the elk
maiden.
**The bear and the buffalo are people of
much mouth. They make a great deal of
noise when they fight. The elk is always
silent and does nothing that is tmbecoming.
Those others are something Uke the white
men, who curse and broil much among one
another,'' Bee concluded, with an air of
triumph.
**I have several times witnessed a com-
bat between the elk and the grizzly. I have
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R.ed Hunters a^nd the Animal People
also seen the battle between the buffalo bull
and the elk, and victory is usually with the
latter, although I have known him to be
mortally wounded."
**And I have witnessed many times the
duels between great elk chiefs," joined in
Many Arrows.
** These people go in large bands from this
time until the winter, when they scatter in
smaller bands. The elk leads a bachelor's
life from January xmtil midsummer, and
about July he begins to look for company."
This was Antler's observation.
** There are two large herds near Smoky
Hill, upon the river meadows. It will be
easy to catch some of the does in the evening,
when they return to their fawns. They hide
the fawns well.
"Some leave them in the woods, others
take them into the deep ravines. My wife
is anxious that I should bring her a fawn's
skin for a fancy bag," suggested Black
Hawk.
** It will take some good running to catch
a fawn at this time of the year. They are
quite large now, and the earliest fawns are
already out with the herds," remarked Many
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The ChoLllenge
Arrows. " The moon of strawberries is really
the best time to catch the doe and fawn with
a birchen whistle. However, there are some
still hidden, and as long as the doe suckles
her fawn she will always come back to it at
evening.'*
Having received such encouraging reports
from their advance scout, the wild htmters
immediately removed their camp to the
vicinity of the great herd. It was a glorious
September morning, and the men all left for
the field at daybreak to steal upon the game.
They hurried along in single file tmtil near
enough, then they broke ranks, separated,
and crept arotind an immense herd of elk.
The river here made a quick turn, forming a
complete semicircle. A lovely plain was
bounded by the stream, and at each end of
the curve the river and woods met the side
of the upper plateau. The whole scene was
commanded by the highest point of the
ridge, called by the Indians Smoky Hill.
The elk people had now reached the cli-
max of their summer gayety and love-mak-
ing. Each herd was ruled by a polygamous
monarch of the plains — a great chieftain elk !
Not a doe dared to leave the outskirts of the
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R.ed Hunters attkl the AnitnoLl People
herd, nor cotdd the younger bucks venture to
face their mighty rival of the many-branched
horns and the experience of half a score of
seasons.
Of this particular herd the ruler was truly
a noble monarch. He had all the majesty
that we might expect of one who had become
the master of a thousand does.
The elk women were in their best attire
and their happiest spirits. The fawns were
now big enough to graze and no longer de-
pendent upon their mothers' milk, therefore
the mothers had given themselves over
wholly to social conquests. Every doe was
on the alert, and used her keen sight, ear,
and scent to the utmost to discover the hand-
somest elk young man, who, though not per-
mitted to show himself within the kingdom
of the monarch, might warily approach its
boundaries.
Hehaka, the monarch, was dressed in his
finest coat and had but lately rubbed the
velvet from his huge and branchy antlers.
His blood was richest and bluest of the elk
folk. He stood upon the outer edge and
continually circled the entire herd — a faith-
ful guardian and watchful of his rights.
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The ChoLllenge
Arotind this herd the wild htinters con-
verged and, each taking up his assigned
position, were ready to begin the attack.
But they delayed long, because of their great
admiration for the elk chieftain. His bear-
ing was magnificent. The unseen spectators
noted his every movement, and observed
with interest the behavior of the elk women.
Now and then a doe would start for the
edge of the woods, and the ruler would have
to rim after her to remind her of his claim.
Whenever this happened, a close scrutiny
wotdd reveal that a yotmg buck elk had
shown his broadside there for a moment,
desiring to entice one of the monarch's elk
women away. These young bucks do not
offer a challenge; they dare not fight, for
that would mean certain death ; so that they
show the better part of valor in avoiding the
eye of the jealous monarch. But they exert
the greatest attraction over the susceptible
elk women. All they need do is to show
themselves, and the does will run towards
them. So the Indians say of certain yotmg
men, **He has a good elk medicine, for he is
always fortimate in courtship."
About the middle or end of August these
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R.ed Hunters and the AnimaLl People
yoting bucks begin to call. They travel
singly over hill and plain, calling for their
mates tintil their voices grow hoarse and fail
utterly. All this finally ends in the breaking-
up of the monarch's harem.
The call of the elk when new is a high-
pitched whistle, pleasant to hear as well as
fascinating and full of pathos. The love-
call of the Indian youth is modelled upon the
whistle of the elk.
Now, the Yanktons, unknown to our party,
had routed a large herd of elk on the day
before on the plains south of the high ridge,
but the great chieftain of the herd had es-
caped into the hills.
His herd destroyed, the chief was all alone.
He could not forget the disaster that had be-
fallen his people. He came out upon the
highest point of the ridge and surveyed the
plains below — the succession of beautiful hills
and valleys where he had roamed as lord.
Now he saw nothing there except that im-
mediately below him, upon a grassy plateau,
were one or two circular rows of the white,
egg-shaped homes of those dreadful wild men
who had destroyed or scattered all his elk
women. He snorted and sniffed the air and
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The ChoLllenge
tossed his immense horns, maddened by this
humiliation.
**It is now calling-time. I have acquired
the largest number of branches on my horns.
It is my right to meet any king among my
people who thinks himself better able than I
to gather and keep a harem.'' Though
weary and disappointed, he now grew bold
and determined. ''It is now calling-time,"
he seemed to say to himself. '* To-morrow
at sunrise my voice shall open the call upon
the old elk hill! I know that there must be
many elk women not far away. If any buck
should desire to meet me in battle, I am
ready!"
The lonely elk passed a wretched night.
He could not forget what had happened on
the day before. -At dawn hunger seized
him, and he ate of the fine dew-moistened
grass imtil he was satisfied. Then he fol-
lowed the oak ridges along the side of Smoky
Hill, travelling faster as the day began to
break. He thought he saw here and there a
herd of elk women loom large through the
misty air, but as the shadows vanished he
discovered his mistake. At last he stood
upon the siunmit, facing the stmrise.
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R.ed Hunters atikl the AnimeLl People
The plains below were speckled far and
wide with herds of antelope and of bison.
The Big Sioux River lazily wound its way-
through the beautiful elk land. He saw
five teepees upon a rich plain almost sur-
rounded by a bend of the river, and not far
away there grazed a great band of elk women,
herded apparently by a noble buck.
The heart of the lonely one leaped with
gladness, and then sttmg him with grief and
shame. He had not heard one elk-call that
year as yet. It was time. Something told
him so. It would not break the elk's cus-
tom if he should call.
His blood arose. His eyes sparkled and
nostrils dilated. He tossed his branchy,
mighty antlers and shook them in the air,
he hardly knew why, except that it was his
way of saying, '* I dare any one to face me!"
He trotted upon the very top of Smoky
Hill. The air was fresh and full of life. He
forgot at that moment everything that had
passed since his mother left him, and his
mind was wholly upon the elk people who
were gathered there below him in a glorious
band. He felt that he must now call, and
that his voice should sound the beginning of
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The Ch«Lllenge
the elk-calling of that season upon the Big
Sioux.
Flying Bee had notified his fellow-hunters
by means of a small mirror of the presence
of a grizzly in their midst, and each one was
on the alert. Soon all had located him, and
moved to a point of safety. They preferred
to see him attack the herd rather than one of
themselves, and they were certain that the
monarch of the Big Sioux would give him a
pitched battle. He was the protector of
every doe in his band, and he had doubtless
assured them of that when he took them into
the herd.
** Whoo - o - o - o !" a long, clear whistle
dropped apparently out of the blue sky. A
wonderful wave of excitement passed through
the great herd. Every tobacco-leaf-shaped
ear was quickly cast toward Smoky Hill.
The monarch at once accepted the challenge.
He stepped in front of his elk women and
lifted his immense head high up to sniff the
morning air. Soon he began to paw and
throw up the earth with his fore and hind
hoofs alternately.
Just then the second call came — a piercing
and wonderful love-call! The whole band
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of elk women started in the direction of the
challenger. Every one of them gave the
doe's response, and the air was filled with
their stamping and calling.
The monarch started to intercept them in
great rage and madness. The htinters all
ran for the nearest tall trees from which they
might witness the pending duel, for they
knew well that when two of these rulers of
the wilderness meet at this season it can be
for nothing less than a battle to death. As
Bee settled himself among the boughs of a
large ash that stood well up on the brow of
the river-bank, he easily commanded the
scene.
He saw the challenger standing upon the
highest point of Smoky Hill. In a moment
he descended the slope and ran swiftly to the
level of the plain. Here he paused to give
the third challenge and the love-call — the
call that the Indian youth adopted and made
their own.
Again the elk women were excited and
stamped their hoofs. The monarch now let
them alone, and started on a run to meet the
challenger. Bee could not restrain himself;
he had to give a sympathetic whoop or two,
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The ChoLllenge
in which his fellows willingly joined. The
elk paid no attention, but when old grizzly
found that he was among many warriors, he
retreated to an adjoining creek to hide.
The challenger saw his adversary coming,
and he hurried forward without a pause. The
elk women were thrown into the greatest
confusion, and even the five warrior-hunters
became much excited, for they always ad-
mired a brave act, whether the performer
were a man Uke themselves or one of the
four-footed folk.
When the monarch saw that the challenger
was in earnest, he took up his position in
front of his herd. On came the other, never
pausing after the third call. When he was
within a hundred paces, the monarch again
advanced, and the two came together with a
great clash of mighty antlers. Both trem-
bled violently for an instant; then each be-
came tense in every muscle of his body as
they went into action.
Now one was pushed bodily along for
some distance, and now the other was pressed
back. At one time both kneeled down and
held each other fast with locked horns.
Again they were up and tugging with all
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Red Hunters and the Animal People
their strength. The elk women were ex-
citedly calling and stamping in a circle
around their lovers and champions, who
paid no heed to them.
At last the monarch made a rush with all
the strength that was left him. He turned
the body of the challenger half-way round.
Quick as a flash he pulled off and jabbed
three prongs of his horns deep into the
other's side. But, alas! at that moment he
received an equal wound in his own body.
Exhausted by loss of blood, they soon aban-
doned the contest. Each walked a few steps
in an opposite direction, and lay down, never
to rise again!
All of the hunters now descended and hur-
ried to the spot, while the elk women fled in
a great thunder of hoofs. They wished to
give to the two combatants a warrior's hom-
age.
The challenger was already dead. The
monarch was still living, but his life was
ebbing so fast that he did not even notice
their approach.
Flying Bee held his filled pipe toward the
fallen king. ** Let thy spirit partake of this
smoke, Hehaka!" he exclaimed. **May I
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The Cha.llenge.
have thy courage and strength when I meet
my enemy in battle!'*
It is the beUef of the Indian that many a
brave warrior has the spirit of a noble animal
working in him.
The five hunters were so greatly touched
by this event that they returned to camp
empty-handed out of respect for the brave
dead. They left handfuls of cut tobacco
beside each of the elk, and Black Hawk took
off one of the two eagle feathers that he
always wore and tied it to the monarch's
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Wild Animals from the Indian
Stand-point
"TTULA, ttila, kola, the game is plenti-
1 fid — once more the flats of the Chey-
emie are covered with buffalo — ^winter is still
at a distance and all is well!"
Thus laughingly exclaimed old Hohay as
he approached the teepee of Sheyaka, a re-
nowned hunter of the Sioux.
** Ugh, you are all here, even Kangee and
Katola. What is in your minds ?*' he con-
tinued, as he entered and took his seat.
*'Ho, brother-in-law, it is good of you to
join us. We are merely enjoying our smoke,"
replied the genial host. **Ah, you are still
the coyote that you were in your yotmger
days! Smoke never entered your nostrils
without drawing you as by a rope. But now
that you are here you must decide between
us. Kangee maintains that the doe never
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Wild Ai\ima.ls from the IndiaLii Sta.i\d.poii\t
fights. I have said that she has been known
to defend herself even more fiercely than her
brother," urged Sheyaka.
**It is agreed by all otir hunters that you
have studied the ways of the animals more
closely than any of us,*' chimed in Kangee.
**0f course, we have all heard the traditions
of the old hunters as they have been handed
down from our fathers, but the things that
we ourselves have seen and known are
straight and strong in our minds as a newly
made arrow,*' he added.
Hohay had been pulling silently at his
long-stemmed pipe, but in a minute he passed
the pipe on to Kangee and tightened the
robe about his knees to get himself into a
story-teller's attitude, for he had no idea of
dismissing this favorite subject in a few
words.
**We must remember," he began, slowly,
**that the four-footed people do not speak
after our fashion. But what of that ? Do we
not talk with our eyes, lips, fingers? Love
is made and murder done by the wink of an
eye or by a single motion of the hand. Even
we ourselves do not depend altogether upon
speech for our commtmication with one an-
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K,0d Hunters ajid the Animal People
other. Who can say that they have not a
language?"
"Ho, ho, henaka," interrupted Kangee.
" I will help you a little here, good Hohay !
It is well known that the alarm-call of the
loon, the crane, and the wild goose is under-
stood by all of the winged people that swim
the lakes. This is not all. Many of the
four-footed people of the woods know it as
well. It often happens when I hunt water-
fowl that one gives the alarm and immedi-
ately all the ducks will swim out, away from
the shore. Those that cannot swim crouch
down to conceal themselves, and even small
animals stealthily and swiftly dodge back
into the woods. Yet the same birds' love
and play calls were not heeded nor did they
disturb the peace, although they were at times
very noisy and talkative."
"Ho, ho," they all said.
"Tadota and I," continued Kangee, "once
saw a doe call to her fawn to lie down and
hide. It happened in this way. We were
htinting up a ravine and came upon the doe
and fawn about a hundred paces apart.
They were both standing to graze, as it was
early in the evening. As soon as the doe
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Wild Ai\iina.l8 from the India.i\ Sta.nd.poii\t
saw us she gave her warning call, which
usually causes the fawn to run toward her.
But in this case the little creature dropped
instantly into the tall grass. After we had
shot the doe we came up to her, but she lay
perfectly still and refused to rise. I may be
wrong, but I believe the doe told the fawn to
drop.
*' I have also seen a doe and fawn playing,"
he went on, *'when plainly the mother di-
rected her young to leap a stream which she
herself had just crossed. The fawn was tim-
id and would not jump. Three times the
doe called, potmding the ground with her
fore-foot. At last she sprang back and ca-
ressed the fawn with her nose and stood with
her a little while, and then once more leaped
the stream. The yotmg fawn came to the
very edge of the bank and nervously smelled
and examined it. Meanwhile the doe called
emphatically, and finally the little one jump-
ed. So I think there is good ground for say-
ing that the wild animals have a language to
which we have not the key.*'
**Kangee is right," spoke up Sheyaka.
**Ugh," said Katola, who had not spoken
before. "He has made the doe and fawn
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K,0d Hunters a.nd the Aniina.1 People
real people. They can neither speak nor
reason," added the doubter, **and the fawn
hides because it is its nature to hide, not
because the mother has instructed it."
**Hun-hun-hayr' exclaimed Hohay, who
was older than the other three. **The ani-
mals do teach their young, and the proof is
that the young often fail to perform the
commonest acts of their parents when capt-
ured very early and kept by man. It is
common knowledge among us that the buffa-
lo calf and fawn have refused to swim when
tamed, and do not rtm swiftly and well as
when trained by the mother, and, in fact,
have no disposition to nm when let loose
with the prairie before them.
** Again, it is well known that all elk are
not equally good nmneis. Some of them
we cotdd nm down on foot and that shortly,
while others try the strength of the best
rtmning horse, all in the same season of the
year and even in the same herd. It looks
to me as if some mothers were better trainers
than others.
**This training is very important, because
wild life is a constant warfare, and their lives
often depend upon their speed in flight. The
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Wild Ai\iina.l8 from the Ii\dia.i\ Stand-point
meat-eating animals, too, must be in good
trim, as they are compelled to chase their
game daily.
**The bear is one of the hardest trainers
among the wild mothers. In the midsum-
mer moon she gives them a regular trial-heat.
It is an unlimited nm, only measured by the
endurance of the mother. The poor cubs
drop out of the race one by one, whenever
one is winded. But in case one holds out,
he remains with her in the same den during
the following winter. That is the prize of
the victor."
"Who has seen or killed the mother-bear
in the winter with a single cub?" asked
Katola.
** I have seen it»" replied Hohay.
**And I also," added Sheyaka.
" But I still do not believe that they teach
their young, like the Red people," Katola said.
** Some run better than others because they
are stronger, not because of their better
training."
** Sheyaka wants to hear about the doe,"
resumed Hohay, **but I have talked much
on other points so as to get my mind fairly
on the trail. The doe is the most sensitive
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ILmI Hunters qliuI the AnimaLl People
animal of all that man hunts. She is the
woman in every way, depending upon her
quickness and ctmning in hiding and the turns
she takes in her flight. Perhaps she has the
best nose and ears of all animals, but she has
a very small idea of the hunter's acuteness.
She knows well the animal himters, who can
smell and nm, but of man she knows little,
except that, though cltmisy, he is dangerous.
**This delicate little squaw can fight des-
perately when she is cornered or in defence
of her young. She has even been known to
attempt the life of a man under those cir-
cumstances! But, Sheyaka, it is time to
smoke," said the wild philosopher at this
point.
**Ho, koda, chandee ota," replied Sheya-
ka, as he graciously produced the finely cut
tobacco and willow bark. **Katola, you
have a good voice; sing us a hunting song,"
added the good-natured host.
**Ho, ho," the company spoke in approval
of the suggestion.
Katola gave them a song without words,
the musical, high-pitched syllables forming
a simple minor cadence, and ending with a
trill. There was a sort of chorus, in which
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Wild Animals from the India.i\ Sta.nd-point
all the men joined, while Katola kept time
with two sticks, striking one against the other,
and Washaka, the little son of the host,
danced in front of them arotmd the embers
of the central fire. The song finished, the
pipe was silently smoked, passed and re-
passed around the circle.
At last old Hohay laid it aside, and struck
a dignified attitude, ready to give the rest of
his story.
** Katola is right in one way," he admitted.
*' He cannot be blamed for having never seen
what has been witnessed by other htmters.
We believe what we ourselves see, and we are
guided by our own reason and not that of
another. Stop me when I tell you a thing
hard to believe. I may know it to be true,
but I cannot compel you to believe it.''
Kangee could not contain himself any
longer, but exclaimed:
*'I have even known the coyote to make
her pups carry and pile the bones of the
buffalo away from their den!''
**Ugh, ugh!" responded the old man.
*'You compel me to join Katola. That is
hard to prove, and while the coyote is a good
trainer and orderly, and it is true that their
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ILed Hunters a.nd th« Anima.! People
old bones are sometimes found outside the
den, I have never before heard that she
makes the little ones pile them. I am not
willing to put that into my bag of stories.
** Now, as to the ability of the doe to fight.
When I was a boy, I hunted much with my
father. He was a good coyote — ^he trained
well and eariy. One spring we were living
in the woods where there was very little
game, and had nothing to eat but musk-rats.
My father took me with him on a long deer-
hunt. We fotmd a deer-hck beside a swollen
pond. The ground was soft around the
pond, with reeds and rushes.
** * Here we shall wait,' said my father.
"We lay concealed in the edge of the
woods facing a deer -path opposite. In a
little while a doe appeared on the trail.
We saw that she was in full flight, for her
tongue was protruding and she breathed
hard. She immediately waded out to the
middle of the pond and stood with only her
head out of water.
** On her trail a large gray wolf came run-
ning, followed by his mate. The first, with-
out hesitation, swam out to the doe. She
reared upon her hind-feet as lie approached,
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Wild Anima.!* from the IndiaLii Stand-point
raising both of her front hoofs above the
water. The wolf came on with mouth wide
open and grinning rows of teeth to catch her
tender throat, but her pointed hoofs struck
his head again and again, so rapidly that we
could not coimt the blows, which sounded
like a war-club striking against a rock. The
wolf disappeared under the water.
**Just at this moment the other wolf
emerged from the rushes and hastened to the
assistance of her mate. The doe looked
harmless, and she swam up to her. But the
same blows were given to her, and she, too,
disappeared. In a little while two furry-
things floated upon the surface of the pond.
**My father could not restrain his admira-
tion for her brave act ; he gave a war-whoop,
and I joined him heartily."
** Ho, ho! You did not shoot the doe, did
you?'* they asked.
**If we did that, we would be cowards,'*
replied the story-teller. *' We let her go free,
although we were in need of food. It was
then I knew for the first time that even the
doe while in flight watches every chance to
make a good defence. She was helpless on
dry land, so she deliberately awaited the
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R.ed Hunters a^nd th« Animal PeopU
wolves in the deep water, where she could
overcome them. Thereafter, when I hunt I
keep this in my mind. My game is fully
awake to the situation, and I must use my
best efforts and all my wits to get him.
They think, and think well, too."
"It is all true,'* Kangee assented, enthusi-
astically. **The buffalo is the wisest of all
the larger four-footed people," he went on,
"in training the young calf."
" Ugh, ugh! they do not train their young,
I tell you!" interrupted Katola, again.
"Wait until Kangee tells what he knows
and then tell us your thought," interposed
Hohay. " It is not fair to doubt the word of
a fellow-hunter."
"I want to tell what I myself saw," re-
sumed Kangee. "Near the Black Hills, in
the early spring, we hunted the bison. My
brother and I followed two cows with their
small calves. They disappeared over a ridge
into a deep valley.
"We hastened on and saw only one cow
running on the other side without her calf.
In the ravine we came upon the other, and
saw her vigorously push the calf down two
or three times, but each time it rose again."
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Wild Anima.!* from the India.n Sta.nd-point
"Ha, ha, ha! The calf refused to hide,"
they all laughed.
** When she saw us, she turned and ran on
with her calf. Presently she entered another
valley, and emerged on the other side with-
out the little one. At the first ravine, one
cow succeeded ii^ cach^ing her calf — the other
failed. She had a disobedient child, but
finally she got rid of it. After a time the
calf understands its mother's wishes; then
she always succeeds in cachfiing her young
when pursued.''
** Tula, tula, kola! That is common knowl-
edge of all himters; surely Katola cannot
doubt that," remarked Hohay.
"Not that — I only said that they do not
teach them. They do these things without
thought or deliberate planning," insisted
Katola.
' * But you must know that even a baby who
has no mother after a while forgets to take
the breast when one is offered to him. It is
constant bringing to the young creature and
continual practice — that is teaching," Hohay
declared, and the other two nodded approval.
** Neither do I believe in a language of ani-
mals," Katola remarked.
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Red Hunters a.nd the Anima.! People
** It may be there is none; but, even so, do
we not convey the strongest meaning with-
out a sound or a word ? In all our speeches
what is most important may be expressed by
a silence, a look, or a gesture — even by the
attitude of the body." Hohay continued
rapidly in his argument: **Is it impossible
that these people might have a simple lan-
guage, and yet sufficient for their use?
** All that a man can show for his ancestry,
when he is left alone from infancy, are his
two legs, two arms, a round head, and an
upright carriage, or partially upright. We
know this from those children who have been
f oimd by wolves and nourished in their caves
until well grown. They were like beasts and
without a language.
** It is teaching that keeps man truly man
and keeps up the habits and practices of his
ancestors. It is even so with the animals.
They, too, depend for their proper skill and
development upon the mother influence,
encouragement, and warning, the example
constantly set before them which leads them
to emulate and even surpass their elders.
We Red men have no books nor do we build
houses for schools, as the palefaces do. We
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Wild Ai\iina.l8 from the Ii\dia.f\ Sta.nd.point
are like the bear, the beaver, the deer, who
teach by example and action and experience.
How is it? Am I right?*' the old man ap-
pealed to his attentive listeners.
** Yes, yes, it is true," replied Kangee and
Sheyaka, but Katola said nothing.
**Is it not our common experience," re-
sumed Hohay, **that when we kill or trap
one or two beaver in a night, all the beaver
stay in-doors for several nights within a con-
siderable distance? This is equally true in
the case of the otter and mink. I have
often started up a deer, and every deer he
passed in his flight would also flee. But
when they run at random in play they do
not cause a general stampede.
"Their understanding of one another's ac-
tions is keener and quicker than we can give
news by words, for some are always doubt-
ers, and then we of the two-legged tribe are
given to lie at times, either with or without
intention. This proves that the animal does
not lack the power to give news or intelli-
gence to his family and neighbors. If this
is so, then they do not lack means to convey
their wishes to their yotmg, which is to teach
them."
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ICed Hunters OLnd the AnimaLl People
This declaration was received in silence,
and, presently, Hohay added: "How is it,
Sheyaka? Is it commonly accepted by our
hunters that some of the four-footed people
play tag and hide-and-seek with their little
ones?"
** Ho, it is well known," responded the host.
** I have seen a black-tail doe run away from
her fawn and hide. When the little one ran
to find her, calling as he seeks, she would
rush upon him playfully at last from some
tinexpected nook or clump of bushes."
**Once I saw a beaver," continued Hohay,
**send her whole family to the opposite side
of the pond when she was about to fell a large
tree. One of the yotmg ones was disobedi-
ent and insisted upon following the mother
to her work, and he was roimdly rebuked.
The little fellow was chased back to the pond,
and when he dove down the mother dove
after him. They both came out near the
shore on the opposite side. There she em-
phatically slapped the water with her tail
and dove back again. I tmderstood her
wishes well, although I am not a beaver."
*'It is the way of the beaver," remarked
Sheyaka, "not to allow her children to play
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Wild Aniina.l8 from the IndiOLii Stand«point
out-of-doors promiscuously or expose them-
selves to danger. She does not take them
with her to fell trees until they are old
enough to look out for themselves. But she
brings them all out at night to learn the
mother-tricks and trade. She is perhaps the
wisest of all the smaller animals."
** The grizzly is an excellent mother of her
kind," suggested Kangee. **I once followed
a mother bear with two small cubs. As soon
as she discovered me, she hastened toward
a creek heavily fringed with buffalo-berry
bushes. When she disappeared over the bank,
I hurriedly followed to see what she would
do. She had sent one of the cubs into the
thick bushes, and a little farther on she tried
to dispose of the other in another good place,
but the cub would not obey. It came out
each time and followed her. Suddenly she
grabbed and threw it violently into a thicket
and then ran arotind the creek and came out
almost opposite. There she watched me
from tmder cover."
** Bears, wolves, and foxes," commented
old Hohay, "often cuff or slap their young
to teach them obedience. Katola might
say that the obedience is inborn or instinc-
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Red Hunters OLnd the AnimaLl People
tive, but it is not. Yoting animals can be
very rude and disobedient to their parents
when they are small, but their mothers'
training is strict and is continued until they
leave them. We Red people have followed
their example. We teach our children to
respect and obey their elders," concluded
the old story-teller.
** The fox is a most orderly eater," Kangee
remarked. **Why, she will not allow her
children to eat greedily! We know that
when she finds a nest full of ducks' eggs — for
she is a great egg -stealer — she will drive
away the excited young foxes, and roll out
egg after egg to each one in turn. Each
must wait until she serves him again."
** When I was a yotmg man," said Sheyaka,
*' I have often called the fox for fim, when I
had no intention of harming him. He is a
keen and cunning htmter, but easy to fool
when you know his weakness. I would imi-
tate the squeaking of the larger field-mouse.
He never hesitates, but rtms directly to the
place where the noise comes from.
**Once I saw him afar off, travelling over
a burnt prairie. I lay down in unbumt tall
grass, and gave the mouse-call. He came
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Wild AnimaLls from the India.!! Sta.nd«poiAt
on as if he were very htingry, running at top
speed, and I kept squeaking so as to make it
seem as if there were many mice.
** When he reached the tall grass he sprang
high as he came, and when he jumped clear
over me I suddenly gave a war-whoop and
waved my blanket. You should have seen
how scared he was! He tried to turn back
in mid-air and fell almost upon me so that I
got hold of his tail. I laughed so hard that
I could scarcely keep my hold, but the end
of the matter was that he left part of his fine
brush with me. I wore it for a long time as
a himting trophy."
The others laughed heartily, but Katola
said: "Ugh, you were not fair with him, for
you invited him to a feast and then gave him
such a fright that he would always hate and
fear his brother man."
"That is true; yet at times a himter can
with propriety play a joke upon a fellow-
htmter," declared old Hohay.
** It is strange that none of the other ani-
mals like the Igmu, the great cat people,"
remarked Sheyaka, as if he desired to draw
out Hohay, who had loosened the buffalo-
robe aroimd his loins and settled down with
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Red Hunters OLnd the AnimaLl People
the evident satisfaction of one who has
spoken his mind upon a disputed question.
** Toh, they are to the others as Utes to the
other Red men," he replied at once. ** They
are unsociable, queer people. Their speech
has no charm. They are very bashful and
yet dangerous, for no animal can tell what
they are up to. If one sees you first, he will
not give you a chance to see so much as the
tip of his tail. He never makes any noise,
for he has the right sort of moccasins.
" Igmu scatters her family in the stmmier.
The old pair go together ; the yoimg go singly
until paired. In the winter hunting they
often travel within hailing distance, but not
like us, the woman following the warrior.
One goes up a gulch or creek while the other
follows an adjacent creek, and they have a
perfect tmderstanding. They feed in com-
mon on the game they kill, and unite to op-
pose a stranger."
"Tell us something of the customs of the
larger four-footed people, as the moose, elk,
and bison," urged Sheyaka. " But it is time
to smoke," he added, as he passed to the old
man a lighted pipe.
**Ho, ho, kola; you know an old man's
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Wild Aniina.ls from the lAdia.A Sta.Ad.point
weak points, Sheyaka! I was about to ask
for the pipe, but you have read my thoughts.
Is it not time for a song ? Can you not give
us a buffalo or elk song? My stories will
move with more life and spirit if you bring
the animal people into my presence with
your songs."
So Kangee sang a buffalo song, a rude yet
expressive chant, of which the words went
something like this :
**Ye the nation of the west —
A-hay-hay-a-hay !
Ye the people of the plains —
A-hay-hay-a-hay !
The land is yours to live and roam in;
You alone are preservers of life —
'Tis ordained from heaven that you should
preserve our lives ! "
** Oo-oo-oo-oo!*' they all joined in the yelps
which are the amen of savage song.
Hohay took one or two heavy pulls on the
pipe, forcing a column of smoke through
his nostrils, and handed it back to She-
yaka. He tightened the robe about him
once more, and his wrinkled face beamed
with excitement and delight in his subject.
**It is from these large and noble four-
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ICed Hunters a^nd the Aniina.1 People
footed tribes that we derive many of our best
customs," he said, "especially from the elk
and buflFalo people. But, boy, you have
danced well! Your father dances Uke an old
bear — where did you learn the art?"
These savage jokers were highly personal,
but jokes were never resented in their life,
so Sheyaka laughed heartily and good-
naturedly with the rest.
** The buffalo and elk people are among the
noblest on earth," continued Hohay, after the
laugh was ended. "The grizzly is a drunk-
en, mad fighter, who attacks without reason.
He is conceited because he is well armed, and
is continually displaying his weapons. The
great cat is much more ready to mind his own
business, but, after all, he is much of a cow-
ard. The wolf warriors are brave where there
is meat. All these characteristics are shown
also among men.
"The buffalo and the elk fight only for
their people and their cotmtry. They do
not himt among other tribes, and where they
live together in large numbers there are fewer
quarrels than among the same number of men
together. They never leave their children
until they are able to take care of themselves.
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Wild AAima.l8 from the lAdia.n Sta.Ad-point
**They have made everything possible to
tis in our free life. They supply us with food,
shelter, and clothing, and we in turn refrain
from needlessly destroying the herds. Their
summer gatherings are the grandest sight I
have ever seen.
'*But I must stop, friends. There is one
sad thing about all this. It has just come
into my mind. The wild man is bad enough,
but there comes another man — the paleface
— ^who has no heart for what is dearest to us.
He wants the whole world for himself! The
buffalo disappear before him — the elk too —
and the Red man is on the same trail. I will
stop here, for it brings me sad thoughts."
He ended, and the others dropped their
heads; not a word was uttered after this*
turn of the Red philosopher's logic. Hohay
left the teepee, and the others followed him
in silence.
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Glossary of Indian Words and Phrases
an-pay'-tu lay wo'-yu-tay wa'-tin-kta mg-che'-chi u'-yay
yO, bring me food to-day.
chSn-dee' 5'-ta, plenty of tobacco.
Chi'-pa, the beaver.
Cha'-pi-wee, the female beaver.
Chap-chin'-cha, the young beaver,
e-na'-ka-nee, hurry,
e-ya'-ya lO, he ran away, he is gone,
e-yu'-ha na-hon' pO, hear. ye all.
gle-chu', come down,
han'-ta, look out.
Ha'-ya Tank-a, Big Mountain.
Hay'-kinsh-kah, the spoonhorn or bighorn.
h6'-ch6-tu, it is well,
H6-h&'-ka, the elk.
hS-hS-hg, an exclamation of distress,
he'-na-ka, wait.
He-tunk'-a-ia, the mouse,
hg-yii' yO, come here.
Hg-zee', Yellow Teeth — a nickname,
hi, hi, an exclamation of thanks.
Hln-hSn', the owl.
Hin'-pO-ha, Curly Hair — nickname for yearling buffalo
cow.
Hin-tO'-ia, Blue Hair.
ho, yes — denotes approval, or a salutation.
H5'-hay, Assiniboine.
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ILed Hunters a.Ad the Animal People
Hoo'-uy, Claws or Stubby Claws — nickname for a bear.
Hoo'-yah, the female eagle.
ho-yi', run of fish.
hO-yay, come on, let us do it.
hu'-ki-hay', come on.
hfin-hlin-hay\ an exclamation of surprise.
Ig-mu'-t&nk-&, the puma.
Ig-tin\ Long Whiskers — a nickname for a puma.
In ah'-jin, stop or stand still.
K&m-dO'-k&, Slaps the Water — nickname for a beaver.
K&n-gee', the raven.
K&-tO'.l&, Knocks.
k5-l&', or koda, friend.
koo'-wah yay yO, come here.
Ma-ke'-z€-ta, Smoking Earth — name of a river.
M&n'-I-too, the wolf — abbreviation of shunk-man'-i-too.
M&-tO', the bear.
Ma-t5'.ska, White Bear.
m&-y2.'-12., a steep place.
m&-y&'-sk&, white cliff.
Min-ne-tonk'-&, Great Water — name of a lake.
O-pa'-ge-ia, Fills the Pipe.
Par<ift'-nee, Pawnee.
Pez-pez'-ft, the prairie-dog.
Pez-p€z'-a ta a'-yftn-pft'-ha-ia, the prairie-dog's herald
(the owl).
Ptay-sftn'-wee, White Cow.
Se'-chftn-gu, Burnt Thighs — nickname of a band of Sioux.
Sha-€'-yS-ia, Cheyenne.
She-ya'-ka. the diver.
Shun-ge'-ia, the fox.
Shun-ge'-ia pa-hah', Fox Ridge.
Shunk-man'-I-too, the wolf.
Shunk-tO'-kC-chah, the wolf.
Sink-pay', the musk-rat.
Sin-tay, Tail — a nickname.
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Glos8a.ry of Indian Words a.nd Phrases
Sin-tay'-hS-dah, Rattle Tail, the rattlesnake.
Sin-tay'-ksi, Bob-tail — a nickname.
ta-chin'-chin-i, fawn or lamb.
Ta-dO'-ta, Plenty of Meat.
Tak'-cha, the deer.
ta-ko'-ja, grandchild.
Ta-tank'-a, the bull.
Ta-wa'-hink-pay-O'-ta, Many Arrows.
tee'-pee, lodge.
T6-0'-ia, Wounded in the Lodge.
tg-yo'-tee-pee, council-lodge.
t5sh, certainly, of course.
tu-la', an exclamation of satisfaction.
tun-ka'-sh6-ia, grandfather.
Un-sp6'-shnee, Don't Know How.
U-pan'-O-koo-tay, Elk Point; the place where elk are shot.
Wa-coo'-tay, Shoots.
Wa-de'-ta-ka, Brave.
Wak-pa'-e-pak-shan, Bend of the River.
Wak-pa'-ia she'-cha, Bad River.
Wam-be-lee', the eagle.
Wish-a'-ka, strong.
Wash-tay', good.
Wa-su'-ia, Little Hail.
Wa-zee'-yah, the god of cold or winter ; the north.
We-chah', the raccoon.
W6-chah'-ta-wee', February — the coon's month.
Ws'-ta-5'-ta, Lake ot Many Islands.
woo, woo, a war-whoop.
wO'-pa-ta, place of killing or dressing game.
Ze-chah', the squirrel.
Zu'-ya, warrior.
THE END
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